


Trials and Tribulations

by Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness



Series: Trials verse [3]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Anal Sex, Angry Sex, Bottom!Gabriel, Bottom!Sam, M/M, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Orgasm Denial, Rutting, Stalking, Top!Sam, threatened rape, top!Gabriel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2020-07-30 16:43:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 51,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20100361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness/pseuds/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness
Summary: Gabriel and Sam mate and try to live their life...but is happily ever after in the cards for someone with Gabriel's past?





	1. Mated

**Author's Note:**

> Will be updated sporadically, because I'm supposed to be working on bangs right now. This story wouldn't leave me alone, however, so here you go. 
> 
> And yes. I'm once again completely ignoring the entire 'have it completely written before posting it' 'rule' that I keep making for myself. 
> 
> The first chapter fills the square, **'Mating Bites'** for SPN A/B/O Bingo.

Gabriel took a deep breath of the dusty, hot air that was filtering into the small house through the window. He was practically bouncing on his toes; it was his mating day (assuming his heat cooperated, but he was pretty sure it would judging by how much he ate yesterday). 

He and Sam had planned this out; Raphael had told them that the strongest mating bond was a result of the Alpha chasing an Omega in heat and then claiming them. Gabriel had gotten over a lot of his hang-ups, but he didn’t dare run down the streets of Los Angeles where any Alpha could catch him. No, he and Sam had switched buildings with Dean and Cas. Dean, Cas, and little Mary were staying in Sam and Gabriel’s apartment for the week, while he and Sam were in Dean and Cas’ house. It was out in a five-house ‘town,’ so it was perfect. They’d even chosen the route ahead of time--up the nearby hill, so that Sam would be able to keep an eye on Gabriel the whole way, even though he was giving him a head start. 

Gabriel didn’t feel like eating, but he drank some orange juice they had in the refrigerator. He wished, briefly, that he’d been able to make the place smell more like Sam and him--it reeked of Dean and Cas’ scents--but he’d had to make do with the nest itself. Dean and Cas’ bed was piled so high with blankets and pillows from Sam and Gabriel’s apartment that even Sam had had trouble last night scrambling up onto it. They were going to have a lot of laundry to do when they were done, but it would be worth it. 

Sam had lived in the house before he moved out almost a year ago, but his scent had been largely erased by the new family member. Their niece, Mary, had been born during Sam’s first year at law school and Gabriel’s last year as an undergraduate. He’d graduated with his BBA a few weeks ago, although he was waiting to start his bakery until he and Sam were mated. They had decided that Sam would work for him over the summer before going back to law school, first renovating the building and then running a cash register (Sam’s talents didn’t really include baking). 

At the moment, Sam was still in bed. It was exceedingly rare for Gabriel to be up earlier than him, but his heat was starting and the bed had felt too hot. Besides, he was ansty, and had wanted to be ready to run when his heat finally hit. So, he was dressed--albeit in old shorts and a T-shirt--and had his running shoes on as he peered out of the window at the trail he’d be running up. Given the number of rattlesnakes in the area and the fact that a good deal of the ground was covered in pumice and cacti, Gabriel was happy that he’d been able to make Sam promise not to claim him the instant he caught him, not that Sam would ever do anything to hurt him.

He was becoming sick and tired of waiting for something to happen when he felt the first traces of slick leak out. With a grin, he set his empty glass down on the counter, opened the front door, and took off running. Gabriel was not much of a runner, admittedly, but his biology cheerfully took over. The sugar in the juice he’d just had helped, too. As he ran, he felt his body slide more firmly into heat. He was glad that it was still morning; otherwise it would have been entirely too hot. He still shucked his T-shirt, throwing it to the side of the trail. Sam would pick it up. And then… Gabriel couldn’t wait until they were bonded. He usually wasn’t much of a romantic, but there were a few big exceptions and that was one of them. 

It wasn’t long before he had to slow down, energy from his heat or no energy. It was California, and the ‘hill’ was actually just shy of being a legitimate mountain. He glanced over his shoulder, but didn’t see Sam. He knew Sam would be able to smell where he’d gone, however, given Sam’s amazing nose. So, he turned his attention back to running. 

After another few minutes, he glanced down again and saw that Sam was now on his trail, quickly eating up the distance between them and carrying the shirt he’d shed. Gabriel grinned fiercely and tried to put on more speed, although he really wasn’t in that great of shape. His antics startled a covey of quail, which flew up off of the trail in a loud cloud of feathers, only to settle down just a few feet away in the brush. 

When he next looked back, Sam was close enough that Gabriel could see that his eyes were glowing red: his heat had apparently triggered Sam’s rut. Once upon a time, that would have terrified Gabriel, but not anymore. He’d worked through the majority of his issues, and he trusted Sam more than he trusted himself, sometimes. 

Gabriel could hear Sam behind him now, gaining on him, and he threw back his head and laughed, knowing it would annoy the Alpha in Sam. He put on one final burst of speed, but it was, of course, no use--Sam’s arms appeared out of nowhere and scooped him up, turning him almost effortlessly and draping him over a gigantic shoulder. “MINE,” he heard Sam growl. 

Gabriel went limp instinctively, but after a few steps back down the path, he gathered his courage and smacked Sam on the ass. “Mine,” he responded cheekily. 

Sam swatted his backside, hard, and Gabriel let out a yelp. “Stop,” Sam ordered in his Alpha voice, making Gabriel shiver. “Want to claim you right here.” His words were a little slurred, and Gabriel realized it was because his mating fangs had already descended. That sent a second shiver through Gabriel. He ran his tongue along his teeth, and found that his were out, too, although not as far as it sounded like Sam’s were. 

“Cactuses,” Gabriel pointed out, wiggling and earning another swat. The part of him that was in heat was totally good with Sam claiming him right this second. The part of him that didn’t like hunting for cactus spines embedded in his skin, not so much. 

“Serve you right,” Sam growled. “Didn’t even wake me up, just took off. Anyone could have caught you.” He began to pick up the pace. Gabriel realized they were going downhill, but even so Sam was carrying him, and he was not small. Yet, Sam jogged the rest of the way down the hill and then flat-out ran into the house (he hadn’t closed the front door, nor did he bother with it this time).

He ran into Dean and Cas’ bedroom, and tossed Gabriel up onto the nest before remembering to at least close the bedroom door. Gabriel had to swallow hard when Sam threw him as if he weighed nothing. The Omega tried to situate himself on the bed, but moments later Sam had climbed up onto the nest and was looming over him with other ideas. The Alpha literally ripped his shorts off, which was definitely less sexy in the real world than it was in bodice-rippers: Gabriel was certain that no fictional Omega ever got a wedgie when they had their clothes ripped off. 

He was too far gone to care, though; he just cried out “Sam!” as the Alpha grabbed him and began to rub his scent all over Gabriel while also divesting himself of his own clothes. Sam managed to yank their shoes off too, but he was apparently too far gone to worry about socks. 

“Present for me, Omega,” Sam growled in his ear, and his body fell all over itself trying to obey that beautiful voice as he rolled over and got up on his knees, chest pressed into the mattress. He heard Sam let out a pleased growl, and then felt him rake his nails down Gabriel’s back before leaning in to scent-mark him again. 

“Please, Alpha!” Gabriel needed Sam inside of him yesterday. “Claim me!” If Sam hadn’t been in a rut, he probably would have taken more time to make sure Gabriel was ready, but as it was, he simply pushed himself deep into the Omega’s heat with no preparation. “Yes!” Gabriel was so wet due to his heat that he barely felt the stretch anyway. 

Sam began to nip at his shoulders, and Gabriel moaned shamelessly, writhing underneath him as Sam started up a frantic pace set by his biology and not his mind. “So good,” the Alpha grunted out as he set a hand in between Gabriel’s shoulder to push him further down into the mattress. 

There was no way Gabriel could have done this without panicking even half a year ago, but time and therapy had provided distance between what was happening now and what had happened when Alistair Rolston and Gordon Walker had kidnapped him. Besides, it was Sam, and he trusted Sam with his life. Maybe even more than that, if truth be told. Plus, it felt amazing. He’d wanted this ever since he’d set eyes on the Alpha in the courtroom so long ago. “Mate me, please Sam, please Alpha!”

He heard Sam let out a pleased growl above him. “Mine.” His knot was already swelling; Gabriel knew it wouldn’t be long. He could already feel himself teetering on the edge, and allowed himself to sink into the feeling just as Sam’s bite landed on the scent gland on his neck. There was a tiny sting, Gabriel’s vision narrowed, and he felt himself climax. 

“Alpha!” Gabriel screamed in pleasure as he decorated the sheets beneath them. 

Sam growled something in return, but his mouth was full of Gabriel’s neck. The Omega felt Sam fill him up, however, and the sensation caused him to orgasm a second time. This time, he floated away into blackness. 

.oOOo.

Gabriel had no idea how long he spent ‘floating,’ but when he became aware of himself and his surroundings again, he felt Sam licking at the mating bite on his neck. His saliva would help it heal, at least until he refreshed it. 

The Omega barely cared about the bite, however, as he felt the full effects of the bond settle on him. Scientists swore it was only chemical and not psychic, yet Gabriel knew he’d never have to search the grocery store for Sam again. 

The bond felt good. He was complete in a way he didn’t know he could be, wrapped up in his Alpah’s--his mate’s--arms. Sam did like to snuggle. In any case, Gabriel didn’t know if the bond alerted Sam that he was back with him or if it was something else, but he heard Sam chuckle. “How are you?” the Alpha asked, ever solicitous. 

“Amazing. My Alpha.” Gabriel twisted his head around so that they could kiss. He thought maybe he could feel some of Sam’s joy, but again, perhaps it was just the pheromones the Alpha was giving off. The room reeked of contented Alpha and Omega pheromones, heat and rut temporarily sated for both.

“My Omega,” Sam whispered when they broke the kiss. They were laying on their sides; Sam’s knot hadn’t fully deflated yet. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Gabriel snorted. “Hardly. How many times do I have to tell you I won’t break?” He stretched a little, then put his arms over Sam’s. “Can you feel it?”

He could hear the smile in Sam’s tone. “Yeah. It’s...Remind me why we waited so long to do this?”

Gabriel chuckled. “We wanted to see the worst of each other first, remember? You in law school and me during finals.” 

“Stupid reason,” Sam murmured, and Gabriel laughed; waiting had largely been Sam’s idea. He grabbed one of Sam’s hands and brought it to his lips so he could kiss it. “Your turn,” Sam added. “How do you want us?” His Alpha was remarkably flexible in more ways than one, and over the past year they’d tried a number of different things, including Sam bottoming for him. 

Gabriel knew that wouldn’t work, however. “I’ll ride you,” he said, groaning lazily when he felt Sam pull out of him. “Easier for me to reach your neck.” Technically, only Sam’s bite mattered as far as the bond was concerned, but both of them wanted the mating bites to be mutual. It was actually in fashion these days for Omegas to claim their Alphas, so that people could easily see which Alphas were taken and which weren’t. Gabriel was _not_ about to give some other Omega an excuse to be near his Alpha now that they were mated; this last year had been hard enough. 

Gabriel rolled over so they were facing each other, put his arms around Sam, and exchanged a few lazy kisses with him. He could already tell that this was going to be the best week of his life. Maybe there was something to his religious’ parents saying that everything bad happened for a reason--if he hadn’t been kidnapped, he never would have met Sam.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Jack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fills the **'Late Presentation'** square for SPN ABO bingo.  
WarlockWriter very kindly betaed this chapter for me!

A few weeks later, Gabriel wanted nothing more than to go back to Dean’s house with Sam. He was learning--the hard way--that opening his own business wasn’t as easy as they made it sound in college. At the moment, he was in the front room of what would be the bakery sitting at a folding desk with a laptop plugged into the only currently-working outlet in the front. The folding chair across from him was empty; he had one more person left to interview, a ‘Jack Kline,’ but he almost hoped that the guy didn’t show. 

This morning had been a disaster. Gabriel had come in, checked on the construction crew in the back where they were renovating the kitchen, and found half a dozen things they were doing wrong. He’d told the guy in charge, but the Alpha had completely ignored him despite his threats to pull out the contract. Of course, the Alpha listened just fine when Sam got there and tore them all a new one, threatening to sue for breach of contract. 

While Gabriel was glad that the issue was solved, and that Sam was currently in the kitchen area double-checking everything the crew was doing, it really hadn’t helped his morale to have to have his mate give the ultimatum. Why couldn’t they just have listened to him? No, he didn’t know a whole lot about construction, but he certainly did know that the doors of the built-in ovens couldn’t open all the way if the ovens were flush against the outer wall!

Needless to say, the construction noise from the back wasn’t helping him get work done in the front, either. Technically, he could have worked from home, but he wanted to be present in case there were any questions--a whole lot tended to randomly ‘come up’ while renovating old buildings. Gabriel supposed he should just be glad that the construction crew hadn’t found any bodies. Yet.

On top of all of that, this morning Gabriel was trying to hire someone to help him out--the position was temporary, for now, but if Gabriel liked the person, he planned to ultimately hire them as a cashier. Of the people he’d interviewed this morning...well. Two were nice enough but were just not salespeople. One, an Alpha, had laughed when she’d learned that she’d be working for an Omega and gotten up and walked out. Another had just struck Gabriel as odd. That left him with Jack Kline, he thought, looking down at the kid’s resume. He almost hadn’t asked Jack in for an interview; he didn’t seem very experienced. However, the kid had seemed enthusiastic, both on his resume and when Gabriel had called him to arrange the interview. 

The Omega put his head in his hands and rubbed at his temples. He had a headache, but it wasn’t bad enough that he wanted to take anything for it. He was definitely going to work from home this afternoon, though, questions or no questions. Maybe Sam would stay, and they could call him if anything came up. 

There was a polite knock at the main door, and Gabriel looked up as it opened. A tall kid who looked as if Gabriel might break child labor laws by hiring him walked in, wearing a very cheap and ill-fitting but clean suit. “Hello,” he said, beaming, holding out a hand to shake. Gabriel found himself smiling because the kid was smiling. “Are you Mr. Winchester?”

“Yes, I am,” Gabriel stood up and took the proffered hand. He saw Jack inhale and realize he was an Omega, but the kid didn’t flinch, which gave him brownie points in Gabriel’s book. The kid himself smelled of wood smoke and something like peat moss, but it was muted, so he must be a Beta. 

“I’m Jack Kline,” replied the kid. Gabriel’s eyebrows raised slightly; not only did he not look old enough to have what little experience he did, but he was a good fifteen minutes early--which he immediately apologized for. “I’m sorry, I know I’m early. I can wait or come back if you want.”

“Nah,” replied Gabriel. “We can start now. Please, have a seat,” he said. “Sorry, we haven’t ordered the chairs for customers yet. No point until we put in the flooring.” 

“That’s okay,” Jack replied, sitting straight as a rod in his chair and folding his hands in front of him. “Thank you very much for this opportunity, Mr. Winchester, I really appreciate it.”

Gabriel paused; he hadn’t been referred to as Mr. Winchester much, and he suddenly realized that he could get used to it. “Please, just Gabriel is fine,” he replied. “Sorry to be so blunt, but...how old are you, Jack?”

Jack let out a small sigh, yet somehow managed to keep smiling. “I’m twenty. I know, I don’t look like it,” he replied, fishing in his pocket for his wallet. He pulled out his ID and handed it over. “I actually went to college for a semester.”

Gabriel studied the ID--he knew what a fake looked like from personal experience--and then raised his eyebrows. “I’m sorry for the mistake,” he replied, handing the ID back. “If I may ask, why didn’t you continue college?”

Jack’s smile faded, which surprised Gabriel. “My mother got sick,” he explained. “She’s doing better now,” he added, brightening a little, “but I had to take care of her for a while, and it ate up our savings.”

Gabriel winced. _Way to put your foot in it,_ he thought. “Sorry to hear that, although I’m glad she’s feeling better. Anyway, let me tell you a little about the position, and then I’ll ask you a few questions. Does that sound all right?”

“Sure, Mr. Gabriel,” Jack replied. He’d already regained his enthusiasm from earlier. “But--I have to disclose something first, because I don’t want to waste your time.” 

Gabriel blinked. There was no way this kid had a felony, so…? 

Jack cleared his throat. “I haven’t presented yet. Genetic testing says I’m an Alpha.” 

Gabriel raised his eyebrows; that explained a lot. With Alphas, the later the presentation, the more likely it would lead to someone going feral or being extremely violent. The kid in front of him was a literal ticking time bomb...and if Gabriel was going to hire him, he’d need a lot of extra insurance, not to mention a tranquilizer gun. It was one of the only reasons you were still allowed to discriminate against someone. His business sense--and his mother’s voice in his head--immediately dismissed the possibility of hiring Jack. 

His conclusion must have shown on his face, because the kid’s expression fell. And here Gabriel had thought that _Sam_ had a good kicked-puppy-dog look. “It’s okay,” Jack said. “I understand, especially with a small business like yours; I know it’s hard.” He put his hands on the table and started to rise. 

“Wait, kiddo.” Gabriel’s business sense could knock him over the head later, because his heart had taken over control of his mouth. “I do want to interview you.” That much was the truth; Gabriel suspected that Jack would be a very hard worker. Plus, with his looks and enthusiasm, Gabriel would bet money on the fact that he could turn Jack into an excellent salesperson. “I’m not going to promise you anything, but the least I can do is give you a fair shot, and at worst you come away with some extra interview practice.” 

Jack’s face lit up, and he settled back in his chair. “Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me, Mr. Gabriel,” he said. 

“Okay, so...since you _are_ an Alpha, how would you feel, working for me?” Gabriel asked. 

“I’d have no problem with it,” Jack replied, shaking his head. “I saw those commercials you were in, and my mother is an Omega. I want to be a _real_ Alpha, like your mate is.” 

Although Gabriel wasn’t ecstatic about the reminder (the entire ‘being in a commercial’ thing had eventually grown old), he appreciated the sentiment. He went on to appreciate how enthusiastic Jack was about the possibility of learning a trade--whether that be sales or baking; the Alpha wanted to try it all--and how honest and genuine he was. 

By the end of the interview, Gabriel knew he was going to have to hire the kid, even though he’d been dead set against it at the start. “One more thing,” he said, once they’d nearly finished. “Since he’s here, I’d like you to meet my mate, Sam, if that’s all right with you. He’ll be around until law school starts in the fall, and what he says goes when I’m not here.”

“Of course!” Jack eagerly followed Gabriel through a swinging door into the back. 

There was AC in the building, so, sadly, Sam was wearing a shirt, but Gabriel still ogled him as they walked up. Not long; the bond and Sam’s sharp sense of smell alerted his mate that he had arrived, so Sam turned around, smiling and setting his things down, then removing his ear protection. “Hi babe,” he said, leaning down to give Gabriel a delicious-smelling and slightly sweaty kiss on the cheek. 

Gabriel briefly forgot why he was there, but then he snapped out of it. “Oh! Um. Sam, this is Jack. Jack, this is Sam, my mate.” 

“Hi Jack.” Sam smiled, reaching out to give Jack a handshake, then tilted his head to the side and gave the kid a sympathetic look. “Late presenter?” 

Gabriel was used to Sam’s nose ferreting out all sorts of things normal people couldn’t detect, but Jack wasn’t, and the kid jumped a little. “...Yeah...how did you know, Mr. Winchester?”

“I have a really good sense of smell, and I didn’t present until I was seventeen,” Sam replied. “Of course, my older brother, Dean? Presented when he was barely fourteen. So...I know how it feels.”

“I’m twenty,” Jack replied, causing Sam to raise his eyebrows--apparently the soon-to-be-lawyer’s nose couldn’t detect age, Gabriel thought to himself. The thought may have been a little smug. “I’ve seen your commercials, and I want to be like you. You know, after I present.” 

Sam nodded. “Good for you,” he said. “I hope for your sake that that happens soon.” 

“Me too,” Jack said emphatically. “Um. Was yours rough?”

“My presentation? A little,” Sam admitted. “Luckily my brother was there to keep me from doing anything too stupid, though I did give him an impressive shiner in an attempt to get out of the house.” 

“Don’t worry, his brother probably deserved it,” Gabriel asided to Jack, who looked a tiny bit frightened of Sam now. “He can be a bit of a dick. And Sam would never hurt anyone now. Unless they _really_ deserved it.” 

Sam nodded his agreement, smiling, and Jack returned the smile. “Well,” Gabriel said, “Unless you have any more questions for Sam, I’ll show you out.”

“No, I don’t want to take up any more of your time. Thank you so much for meeting me, Mr. Winchester.” Jack nodded respectfully to Sam, bared his throat to the older Alpha, and then turned to walk back through the swinging door. Gabriel followed him, waving as he left, then sat back down at his ‘desk.’ 

“Well, shit,” Gabriel remarked--seemingly to empty air, but he heard Sam walk in just in time to catch it. He wasn’t surprised when his mate walked up behind him and put his ginormous hands on his shoulders. 

“It will be worth it,” Sam said. “You’ll have a loyal Alpha who looks up to you around when I can’t be here. And the latest presentation I’ve ever heard of was 22. Once he presents, you won’t need the extra insurance and everything.”

Gabriel glared up at his husband. “How do you know what I’m thinking? This bond isn’t supposed to give you psychic abilities, you know.”

Sam chuckled, a deep rumble that made Gabriel want to be pressed against him. “He’s the only one you introduced me to. And if he wasn’t a late presenter, he’d be perfect from what I saw. Plus, he must be willing to have an Omega for a boss, or he wouldn’t have lasted any longer than that other Alpha did.” 

“He and his mother need the money, I think,” Gabriel said, his expression softening. “And it’s clear he’d be a hard worker. I can teach him to be a salesman. Hell, I can teach him to bake, if that’s what he wants. But the extra insurance will be a lot that I hadn’t planned on spending.”

“It will,” Sam agreed, “But like I said, it’ll be worth it. I have law school completely covered; your parents own the building we live in...we’ll scrape up the extra. I know what it’s like to be in a crappy family situation like that, and we both know what it’s like when someone takes a chance on us.” 

Gabriel did; very few Omegas actually got college degrees, and Sam was paying for law school with a scholarship and an agreement with a law firm where he’d work for five years after obtaining his degree. “Yeah, we do,” he said softly. “Okay. I’ll call the insurance people first thing tomorrow morning. But I’m going to go work from home this afternoon; I can’t handle all the noise.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sam replied, leaning down to kiss Gabriel. “I’ll stay here and make sure those idiots don’t mess up your design. Don’t worry about dinner, I’ll bring something home.”

“I love you,” Gabriel noted as he sat up straighter so he could shut his laptop down. 

“I love you too, Gabriel,” Sam said before he turned and headed back to the construction site.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam gets fan mail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may not like this chapter if you like Becky XD. 
> 
> Fills the **'Honeysuckle/Lavender/Anise'** square for ABO Bingo.

Sam got back to the apartment around seven. He was carrying a large bag of takeout, but stopped to check the mailbox anyway. There was mail in it, so he picked that up too, juggling it, the food, and his keys as he took the stairs up to the fifth floor where his apartment was. 

He unlocked the door, opened it, and called, “It’s me, Gabriel!” His mate was not nearly as anxious about strangers coming into the apartment as he used to be, but Sam still liked to reassure Gabriel that it was him coming through the door. 

“I’m in here,” he heard Gabriel call from the study they had made out of a second bedroom. Sam walked into the kitchen and set everything down, taking a deep breath full of the scents of _home_, then walked back to the door to close and lock it. He took off his work boots at the door, then went and poked his head into the study. 

“Hey, Gabe,” he said, smiling as he spotted his mate sitting at his desk. “I’m going to take a quick shower, and then we can eat. I got your favorite from that Chinese place.”

Gabriel turned and gave him a bright smile. “Have I mentioned that I love you, Alpha?”

Sam chuckled. “Once or twice already today, Omega,” he replied. “How’d it go this afternoon?”

“I got a lot more done than I did this morning. You?”

“They finally finished all of the wiring,” Sam replied. “And started on the water.” 

“Oh, thank god,” Gabriel said. “I thought they’d never finish with that.”

“Me either,” Sam agreed. “Okay, shower, see you in a bit.” 

“Okay,” he heard Gabriel say as he turned and walked down the hall to the master bedroom. Once upon a time, his mate would never have allowed him to take a shower without him, so Sam figured that Gabriel must be hungry...or maybe they were just finally starting to get past the ‘honeymoon’ phase of their relationship. 

Sam took a quick shower, dressed in a fresh t-shirt and jeans, and made his way back to their kitchen. Gabriel had set out a plate and chopsticks for him, and was sitting at their dining table with a plate of his own, already half-finished with his pork fried rice. Sam shook his head, amused that he’d been right about his Omega being hungry, and began to load his plate with his favorites. 

It wasn’t until he turned and went to set his plate down that he saw the pink envelope sitting at his place...and the shit-eating grin that had suddenly appeared on his mate’s face. “Saaaaaammy has faaaaaan mail,” Gabriel sang, laughing at him. 

Considering how possessive Gabriel could be around other Omegas, Sam didn’t understand why he loved it so much when Sam got ‘fan’ mail from those commercials, but he suspected it had to do with how flustered he became. Speaking of which, he attempted not to let his embarrassment show on his face as he swept the envelope to the side so he could set down his plate and sit down. “Don’t call me that, Gabe,” he instructed for the millionth time. 

“Ooooh, Sammy’s afraid to read it in front of me! Do you think this one describes their mental image of your knot the way the last one did? I had half a mind to post a response online, hashtag fan suspicions about proportion confirmed!” Gabriel reached across the table and nabbed the envelope, then proceeded to open it as Sam glared over at him half-heartedly. 

Sam hadn’t been happy with the similar mail Gabriel had collected, but he’d put up with it. Gabriel, with his gorgeous eyes and his little smirk, at least deserved the admiration. Sam...not so much. His mate, of course, absolutely loved teasing him about each and every letter he received, so he tried to brace himself for whatever this one would say. 

Gabriel’s expression changed from ecstatic to confused at about the same time the smell from inside the apparently scent-secure envelope hit his nostrils. “Oh, shit,” he muttered, setting his chopsticks down before he gagged on it. Judging by the amount of scent that was released, someone had worked very hard to scent-mark whatever was inside. Sam was trying hard not to imagine how they’d done so, especially since the combination was familiar to him. 

“What the fuck, Sam?” Gabriel asked a few moments later. He was opening something made of pink paper that had been folded over, and small pieces of what looked like torn-up paper with an image on it were falling out of it. The folded item turned out to be a large construction-paper heart. Gabriel eyed what was on it, repeated, “Seriously, what the fuck, Sam?” in a sharper tone and slid it across the table before examining the papers that had fallen out of the heart. Sam knew his mate didn’t mean to assault his sensitive nose, but he couldn’t help but sneeze violently at the combination of honeysuckle and lavender, with a bit of anise sprinkled in. 

He made a face and rubbed at his nose as he pulled the construction paper heart closer so he could see what was glued to it. The air was beginning to reek of burned cinnamon rolls, too; Gabriel was _really_ upset by whatever this was. 

The construction paper heart framed a photo of a younger Sam seemingly making out with a young woman with dyed blond hair. To add insult to injury, she had signed it, ‘To my Alpha, Sam, with love, your real Omega, Becky.’ 

“Fuck. Gabriel, I can explain,” Sam said, looking up to find his mate piecing together a ripped-up photograph of himself from the commercials. The burning smell was getting stronger. “I went on _one_ date with Becky back in high school, before either of us presented. That’s all, I swear. I didn’t tell you about her because she’s back in Kansas--at least, I hope she’s back in Kansas--and it was _one date._ We went in a photo booth,” he said, holding up the photo, “and she grabbed my face and kissed me. I pushed her away because it was too much, but not before the booth took this. Look, look how young we are,” he added, pushing the heart back toward Gabriel. 

Gabriel snatched it from him, and glared down at the photograph for a few moments before he began to relax, his scent normalizing. Sam closed his eyes. “She was another weird kid and no one wanted to hang out with her, so I tried to be nice to her. She asked me out, this happened, and then I avoided her after that.” He opened his eyes and looked over at his mate. “I would have told you if I’d thought about it, but I _never_ expected she would contact me again, let _alone_ send me something like this.” He wanted to ask about the torn-up photo in front of Gabriel, but didn’t dare bring attention to it yet.

Gabriel eventually essayed a weak smile. “You look like a total nerd in this photo, Sam. Zits and all. I didn’t realize how young you were in it at first.” 

Sam sighed again. “I _was_ a total nerd, then. Please, Gabriel, I know I probably don’t deserve it, but will you come here? I’ve never liked the way she smelled, and this is too much for me; I want to scent you.”

Gabriel hesitated a moment, but then got up and came around the table; Sam pulled him into his lap and buried his nose against his mate’s scent gland, breathing in deep lungfuls of still slightly overly-toasted cinnamon roll. Gabriel slid his fingers into Sam’s hair and eventually started purring soothingly. 

After a few minutes, Sam lifted up his head to look at his mate. “Was that a picture of you?” he asked gently. 

The purring stopped immediately, and Gabriel sighed. “Looks like it,” he said. “Looks like someone...she...what did you say her name was?...printed out a still from the commercial, ripped it up, and stuffed it in that heart.”

Sam couldn’t help but growl. “Becky. I’ll write a cease and desist letter as soon as we put the food away.” 

Gabriel shook his head. “Don’t feed the trolls, Sam,” he said. 

Sam was geeky enough to get the reference. “Are you sure? Let’s at least check the return address? Make sure she’s still in Kansas?”

“Okay.” Gabriel extricated himself from Sam’s embrace and went to look at the envelope he’d discarded. “Yeah,” he said, nodding, “the return’s from Kansas. So we ignore it.” 

Sam wasn’t sure he felt the same--maybe because he’d known Becky--but Gabriel was the most offended party in this case, so he allowed him to make the call. Standing, he helped his Omega pick up all the bits of Gabriel’s picture, the heart, and the envelope. They threw them away together, and then Gabriel retrieved some scent neutralizer and sprayed it practically everywhere that wasn’t their food. 

“Do you forgive me?” Sam asked quietly as he sat back down. 

“Yeah, Sam. It clearly wasn’t something you wanted or asked for, and it’s not like I’ve told you about everyone I dated in high school,” Gabriel replied, and Sam could hear the ring of truth in his words. As he finished spraying the room, he set the scent neutralizer down on the kitchen counter. “Better?” he asked. 

“Much, thank you. Remind me to make this up to you.” 

“I can think of a few ways you could do that,” Gabriel replied as he washed his hands, turning his head to waggle his eyebrows at Sam. “In fact…” Hands washed, he made his way to his plate and then pulled it across the table so it was sitting next to Sam’s. “Why don’t you feed me dinner tonight, Alpha?” he asked innocently, plopping down in Sam’s lap again. 

Sam couldn’t help but laugh at his antics. “Gabriel, you are a _grown-ass man_ who is _perfectly capable_ of feeding yourself.”

Gabriel widened his eyes and let out a pathetic-sounding whine. “Please, Alpha? Won’t you feed your poor, starving Omega?”

Sam looked down at him, and couldn’t help himself. Shaking his head, he picked up his chopsticks and began feeding Gabriel. “Only if you promise that you will _never_ pull this shit in a restaurant,” he said. He realized, as Gabriel’s eyes lit up, that he shouldn’t have said anything; he was just giving his mate ideas. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”

“But you love me anyway,” Gabriel said smugly before Sam deposited a rangoon in his mouth. “And not that...Becky.”

“I never have, and I never will,” Sam promised him. “Only you.”

“Good,” Gabriel said, and started purring again. 

.oOOo.

When they’d both eaten their fill and put the dishes in the dishwasher, Gabriel talked Sam into watching an episode of Firefly with him. He was loving Wash, the Omega character on the show, and Sam didn’t have the heart to warn him of what was to come--especially since Gabriel had this theory that by the end, Captain Malcolm would totally steal Wash away from Zoe. Sam had to admit, Gabriel’s theory was...unique. 

“You can’t take, the sky from me!” Gabriel belted out with the ending credits, for some reason that Sam couldn’t fathom. He just held him--Gabriel loved to sit in Sam’s lap, and Sam loved to let him. 

“Another one?” Sam asked, though it was starting to get late. 

“Nope,” Gabriel replied, nosing at Sam’s scent gland. “I have to ration these; they’re too good. Anyway, I should get there early tomorrow to make sure they haven’t made any more mistakes.” 

“So, bed, then?” Sam replied with a smile. 

“If by ‘bed,’ you mean ‘sex,’ then yes, please, Alpha. This mating bite of yours is looking a little...old.”

Sam shook his head as he stood, taking Gabriel with him. He’d asked around, and Gabriel definitely bit him more often than other Omegas bit their Alphas. Even Cas, who apparently liked to bite Dean, only did it when he was in heat. Sam certainly didn’t feel like biting Gabriel outside of rut--well, not now that they were mated, at any rate. But, of course, the repeated bites were a very small price to pay for the love of his true mate. And if Gabriel wanted to mark him as taken, well, he very much was, so what did it matter? 

“Does that mean no sex, or no bed, or no bite?” Gabriel was playfully referring to his head shake, and broke Sam out of his reverie in the process.

“_That_ means that you have a _very_ understanding Alpha,” Sam retorted, focusing on Gabriel as he made his way to the bedroom. “You want to brush your teeth before, or after?”

“Before. Your knot takes forever to go down when I bite you,” Gabriel said smugly, licking over Sam’s scent gland. 

“Brat,” Sam said affectionately before depositing him in the bathroom, where they went through their pre-sleep routines. 

Gabriel, who was always a lot more comfortable than Sam with being naked, finished first and shed his clothes before jumping into their nest. Sam heard him take a deep breath of their combined scent, and smiled. He did love Gabriel’s cinnamon roll scent, and couldn’t quite believe that the Omega with the sweet tooth really liked his combination of lettuce, beer, and books, but he’d seen plenty of evidence by now that it was true. 

Leaving the bathroom, Sam turned off the light and went to make love to his Omega.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot thickens... and Gabriel and Sam try to have some fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'ed by the wonderful WarlockWriter, whom I'm sure could do a better job if I didn't hand him a single chapter at a time...
> 
> Note: Neither human nor dog saliva has antibacterial properties in the real world, but it does in my Omegaverse. In fact, it's a good way to get a wound infected. Use antibacterial ointment instead, people!
> 
> Second note: I detest using the word 'cunt' personally; I don't think women should ever call each other things like that. Sadly, Gabriel would use it and did, so I apologize for the word's use. Just know that I'm with Sam on this one.

To their dismay, pink envelopes continued to appear in their mailbox. Gabriel insisted on throwing them away unopened, and Sam let him. At first, the letters arrived once or twice a week, and then the frequency increased to about one per day. After a month or so, when they stopped altogether, Gabriel happily declared victory over this Becky character. Sam didn’t seem as enthusiastic, but Gabriel knew how to make his mate look on the bright side--and he did. 

In the meantime, Gabriel secured the insurance, training, and tranquilizer gun he needed to hire Jack. Just a few days of having Jack around to do tasks large and small made it clear that they’d made the right decision; the kid was a hard worker, and he attracted attention from what Gabriel called ‘the kids,’ even though ‘the kids’ were only a few years younger than he and Sam. 

When the construction of the kitchen area was finally finished, Gabriel began testing out his recipes on a much larger scale than he’d ever had cause to. They made a lot of friends in the apartment complex by giving away what they, Dean, Castiel, and Mary, and the construction team members (who were now working on the shop portion of the bakery) couldn’t eat. Gabriel and Jack made sure that the baked goods that were given away always had colorful little advertisements for ‘Sprinkles! All-Purpose Bakery Opening Soon’ on them. Once Gabriel had all of his licenses in place, they occasionally gave items and advertisements away to passers-by on the street. 

In short, Gabriel was excited and anxious and generally thrilled that he was making his dream come true--and not only that, but he had an amazing mate to fall back on when there were hiccups, burned goods, or worse. It was one thing for Sam to say he supported Gabriel’s dream; it was another for him to go on a nearly all-carbohydrate diet of baked goods so that they could save some extra money. Aside from a few good-natured grumbles about having to run further each day to keep in shape, Sam never complained. 

A week or so after the end of the pink envelopes, Gabriel was in the back of the bakery, working with Jack on bread. Jack was good with simple recipes, but the addition of yeast was giving him trouble, and Gabriel was explaining how to best mix the yeast with the water and sugar. “You want to make sure it’s fully dispersed and can get to the sugar, but you also don’t want to beat it so hard that the yeast dies,” he was saying. 

Jack was paying rapt attention, nodding as Gabriel spoke. “So that’s why you always mix it by hand before you put it in the big mixer.”

“Exactly.” Gabriel beamed at Jack. “And after you add it to the dough, you have to make sure the mixer’s on a slow setting, or you’ll get flat bread anyway.” He was still shocked at how earnest Jack was about learning baking in addition to everything else--baking was ‘supposedly’ an Omega task. Even Sam hadn’t shown much interest in it, although Gabriel knew it was because Sam wasn’t any good at baking; it wasn’t because Sam found it ‘beneath him’ as an Alpha. Gabriel had to admit it was much more fun to watch Sam pound nails into the wall to hang cabinets than to watch him try to follow even the simplest recipe anyway. 

“Mom says your bread is the best she’s ever had,” Jack said, still carefully watching Gabriel as he added the yeast mixture to one of the larger mixers. “She says she won’t go back to store-bought.”

“She’s still coming to the grand opening?” Gabriel asked as he set the mixer on low and watched it start to spin the different components of the dough together. 

“Yeah! She says she wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Gabriel hadn’t met Kelly Kline, but Jack’s stories had given the woman a near-mythical status by now, and he was looking forward to meeting the real thing. She was a rare single Omega who had brought Jack up by herself, no Alpha involved. Gabriel sometimes wished that she, and not Naomi, was his mother; Naomi and Chuck hadn’t raised them _wrong_, exactly, but he definitely didn’t have the same relationship with Naomi that Jack had with Kelly. 

“Well, you tell her that she’s more than welcome, and she will always get the family and friends discount at Sprinkles!”

“I’m sure she’ll appreciate that. Maybe she can even come work here if she can’t find another job!” Kelly had had to quit her job when she got sick, which had left her with no medical insurance and a whole lot of bills. It was one of many reasons why this job seemed to mean so much to Jack, who was now--both figuratively and literally, given all of Gabriel’s experiments--bringing home the bread. Kelly was able to do some work from home, but nothing too strenuous. 

“You’d want to work with your mom?” Gabriel was surprised, no matter how close they were. 

“Why not?” Jack shrugged as he fetched another bag full of flour, recognizing that the dough needed some more. “Make it a two-family affair. You and Sam and mom and me. Not that the bakery would be /ours/, of course, it’s /yours/, but our little family would work here.” 

Gabriel smiled at the kid’s enthusiasm. “For the record, you’re practically family now, both of you. It’s a low bar as far as I’m concerned, but Sam puts a lot of importance on family.” 

“He’ll make a really good father,” Jack nodded. “He’s so patient with me. I mean, you are too, but he’s an /Alpha/ and he’s patient with me.”

“He will,” Gabriel agreed, smirking to himself. “Part of me wants to have his pups right away, but the rest wants to make sure Sprinkles! gets off the ground and running properly before I do. It’s going to be hard enough to stay on my feet all day without a gigantic belly.”

“I can only ima--” Jack started, but was interrupted as the back door opened with a loud bang that startled them both. 

Gabriel realized that it was his mate striding across the room toward him at about the same time that Sam’s upset smell hit his nostrils: Sam reeked. The beer had gone flat and stale, the lettuce smelled as if it were going bad, and the books in his scent were mildewing. Sam was still in his usual running outfit; he clearly hadn’t been back to the house to shower. He was also disheveled, there was a bruise on his face, and his right forearm was dripping blood. “Sam!” Gabriel met him halfway across the room without even realizing that he’d moved. “What happened? Let’s get this--” and then he paused as another scent hit his nostrils. One that made him want to rip someone apart. 

“It’s just skinned; it’s not as bad as it looks,” Sam tried to reassure Gabriel, but the Omega was already pulling his Alpha toward the staff bathroom and pushing his arm under the faucet. The Alpha winced when he turned it on, but allowed Gabriel to wash away the blood. 

“She’s here?!?” Gabriel couldn’t quite believe it, despite clearly smelling Becky’s scent on Sam. 

“Yeah. I’m just glad you’re--I was worried about you. She found me on my run; startled me so bad that I tripped and fell. I’m okay,” Sam added hastily. “Just a few bruises and the arm, but then...she made a huge scene. We need to talk about it--at home.” He glanced over toward Jack, who was, not surprisingly, watching them curiously. 

“Okay. The crew should be fine on their own for the rest of the day. Jack, do you want to finish baking these loaves? You can take them home when you’re done, and I’ll--I suppose I’ll call you tonight or later today with a plan for tomorrow,” Gabriel called as he ducked out of the bathroom to get the first aid kit. 

“Okay, Mr. Gabriel. Are you all right, Mr. Winchester?” Jack asked. Gabriel mentally shook his head at the way the kid refused to just call him ‘Gabe’ like everyone else. 

“I’m--” Sam clearly wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. “Physically, I’m fine,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. Gabriel finally pulled his arm out from under the faucet and started inspecting it while patting it dry with paper towels. Sam was right; his arm was skinned badly, but didn’t seem to be injured otherwise. Gabriel applied antibiotic ointment from the first-aid kit and then started covering the skinned area with gauze. 

“Okay. Um. I’m going to go make sure they’re still doing what Mr. Gabriel wants,” Jack said, fleeing toward the front. 

Gabriel snorted indelicately as he started taping the gauze in place. “Kid has more social skills than he thinks he does.” When he realized how tense his mate still was, he added, “Sam. Relax. I’m fine. You’re mostly fine. I know I overreacted about Becky at first, but I’m not mad at you.” He looked up so Sam could see he meant it. “Yes, I get jealous. Yes, I hate it when other Omegas flirt with you. Yes, I’ve considered biting you on every scent gland you have to make sure that everyone knows you’re mine. But you saw Becky, and your response was to worry about _me_. You came running back to _me_. _I’m_ okay, Sam. Calm down so we can make sure that you’re okay, and then we can go home and talk about it.” 

As soon as the tape had secured the gauze in place, Sam put his arms around Gabriel, pulled him close, and buried his nose in his neck. Gabriel wrinkled his own nose, because it meant he could smell Becky on Sam even better, but he did his best to keep calm. Instead, he reached up to run his fingers through Sam’s hair and tried to get his own nose closer to Sam’s scent gland (damn height difference). “God, I love the way you smell,” Sam murmured. “It’s never too much, not ever overwhelming to me. Even when you’re mad.” 

“I’m not mad. Concerned, but not mad,” Gabriel told his Alpha, running his other hand up and down Sam’s back. “Now, let me get a look at these other bruises, and then we’ll walk home.” He slowly pushed Sam back a little. The bruise on his temple was becoming more obvious, but there were no cuts on his face that Gabriel could see. “Pull up your pant leg and let’s see the spot you hit there.” He gave Sam an eyebrow wiggle, which always made the Alpha smile--sometimes shyly, sometimes wickedly. 

The ghost of a smile did indeed appear on Sam’s face, but it was clear he wasn’t really in the mood. Instead, he set his foot on a chair and pulled up the leg of his sweatpants. As Gabriel had expected, a few bruises were already starting to form next to a small patch of rug burn on Sam’s knee. “No blood,” he observed, “So I think we’ll forego the bandage since you’re a big, tough Alpha. Are you sore anywhere else?”

Sam shook his head no, and Gabriel helped him pull his pant leg back down. “Okay, let’s go home, then,” Gabriel said. He took off his apron and set it aside, made a note of the time in a log book, and then pressed himself to Sam’s side for the short walk back to their apartment. (As a baker, Gabriel would have to get up early. He’d be damned if he had to get up _extra_ early because he lived far away from his place of business.)

Sam didn’t say a word during the walk, though he was constantly scanning the area around them as if someone was going to come out of nowhere and accost him. Gabriel just held him close, and put up with him checking the outside lock on the apartment complex several times before they actually went in. Gabriel led Sam to the elevator (he’d take the stairs despite his injuries, if Gabriel let him), and then dutifully stood just outside the elevator door while Sam thoroughly sniffed their apartment door. 

It wasn’t until he was watching Sam check their door that Gabriel realized his mate wasn’t just being overprotective--Becky knew where they lived, because she’d sent them letters. While their apartment complex may have an outside lock, it was common procedure for people to buzz delivery people or people who had forgotten their keys up to their apartments. Gabriel felt his stomach plummet, even as he saw Sam shake his head and unlock the apartment, then open the door and go in. _Becky knew where they lived,_ and suddenly, that frightened Gabriel more than he’d ever be willing to admit. 

“She hasn’t been here,” Sam announced as he strode back into the hallway. Whether he could smell Gabriel’s fear or was reacting to something else, he hurried over and scooped Gabriel up into a bridal carry. Normally, being manhandled like that by Sam would make Gabriel swoon, but his stomach just churned faster as his mate carried him into the apartment. The Alpha held him up with one hand while he closed the door behind them and locked it. He then carried Gabriel straight to the bedroom, to their nest, and carefully set him down in the middle. “I’ll get your shoes,” he said, and proceeded to do just that, disappearing into the hallway with them once he’d removed them from Gabriel’s feet. 

Gabriel reached over and turned on a lamp by the bedside; they tended to leave the blinds in the bedroom closed even when it was daylight, and suddenly he was inordinately glad that they did. He shed his jeans and outer shirt, leaving him in a T-shirt and boxers, and burrowed down under all the blankets and pillows, where the smell of Sam was strongest. Thankfully, it was only a few minutes before the source of that smell joined him. Sam had shed his outer layers, too, which meant he no longer smelled of Becky. It was Gabriel’s turn to scent Sam, who wrapped his Omega in his arms and held him quietly for a few minutes. 

After what seemed like forever, Sam’s scent had finally calmed Gabriel to the point that he felt mostly rational, so he pulled away in order to look at his Alpha. “What happened?” he asked, trying to keep his tone as neutral as possible. 

Sam sighed. “I was running--I realized later that I posted about the route I take on Facebook--and thinking of what we still need to do before the opening--and then suddenly, she was just there, running beside me, in a jogging outfit, like we’d run together for years.” 

Gabriel frowned deeply, then tried to relax his facial muscles as Sam responded with a guilty look. Regardless of how he felt, Sam continued, “Like I said earlier, it startled me, and I tripped and fell. She apologized, and then tried to pull me up, asking if I was hurt. She kept calling me Alpha, like...well, like she was you. When she saw I was bleeding, she--” Sam hesitated, and Gabriel could tell he really wasn’t going to like whatever came next. “She grabbed my arm and tried to lick it.”

“What the _fuck?_” Gabriel sat straight up in bed, pulling away from Sam in the process. Licking the wounds--with the exception of a mating bite--of another person in a non-life-threatening emergency was unheard of. Yes, saliva had antibacterial properties and was good for helping close small cuts, but licking was a _very_ intimate gesture--a mother or an Omega might lick their pups’ first few wounds, but that was about it. 

“That’s what I said,” Sam told him wearily, eyes wide in the dim light. “I scooted backwards and got to my feet as fast as I could, keeping her away from me with my other arm. Then I told her I was mated to my true mate and was not, nor ever would be, interested in her.”

“Fucking cunt.” The words slipped out of Gabriel’s mouth before he could filter them.

“Gabriel!” Sam admonished, now sitting up himself. “You can’t call her that. That’s all kinds of--”

Gabriel reached out to set a finger against Sam’s lips to shush him. “Sam, you know I respect women and I would _never_ call anyone something like that without cause. But if a guy tried to lick you, I’d call him a cocksucking bastard. I think I’m justified this time.”

Sam didn’t look like he fully agreed, but he also probably thought he was on thin ice with Gabriel, who almost certainly smelled of burning cinnamon rolls by now. He took a moment or two to collect his thoughts, then continued to tell his story. “By then, people were starting to notice us. She grabbed my arm and howled like I’d hurt her; I just put my hands up as best I could to show I wasn’t doing anything to her.”

Gabriel growled. The fucking cunt--sorry, Sam--had tried to make it look like _Sam_ was hurting her? Sam would never hurt _anyone_, unless they truly deserved it. 

“She started telling everyone that we were true mates, but that I was rejecting her, and at the same time begging me not to reject her. She was hysterical, screaming and crying and begging. Gabriel...she’s unbalanced. Seriously. I think she may actually be delusional or schizophrenic.” He swallowed hard. “I started to wonder, if she’d been on my social media, she’d certainly know about the bakery, and what if she’d gone there first and found you?” This time, he shuddered, and grabbed ahold of Gabriel, pulling him close once more and scenting him despite the mood he was in. “I was so worried, but I couldn’t do anything because there was a crowd around us and a police officer had come over to see what the problem was,” Sam murmured against his neck.

Gabriel quickly snaked his arms around Sam, trying to convey to his Alpha that he wasn’t mad at him. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “She didn’t. I’m fine. We’re home. We’re safe.”

Sam hugged him tighter. “Becky finally howled something about how if I rejected her, she’d die of pining sickness, and then she fainted.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Of course she did,” he muttered, before calling her a few additional things Sam wouldn’t approve of under his breath. 

“I caught her before she fell and put her down on the sidewalk--that’s why my clothes smell of her. The police officer had everyone give her some space and made sure she was okay, then asked me what the hell was going on. I explained, and then begged to go because I was so worried about you, but I don’t think she believed me at first. Luckily, a few people had seen the entire thing and backed my story up, plus, I was the one bleeding and there wasn’t a scratch on Becky. So, once the police officer called for backup and ran my driver’s license, she said I could go but that I’d probably be contacted by the police later. As soon as she did, I turned and ran straight to the bakery.” 

“Oh, Sam,” Gabriel breathed, cradling Sam’s head again. “I’m so sorry.” He knew that Sam not only felt guilty about the fact that he’d essentially told Becky how to find them both on Facebook, but probably also because he’d left the scene without determining whether or not Becky was all right. Gabriel didn’t give a flying fuck, but he knew his mate would even though that would in turn make him feel as if he were betraying Gabriel. Sam was much too kind sometimes. 

“I’m sorry I left you alone. And that I got you mixed up in all of this. I know you’re mad, and I’m so sorry. I told you I was a terrible Alpha; you should’ve listened,” Sam mumbled. “If you were with someone better, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Oh, for crying out loud, Sam!” Gabriel’s tone startled his mate enough that Sam pulled away from him to stare, and he used the opportunity to grab the sides of Sam’s face so he couldn’t look away. “Do you really think that Becky’s stalking you because you’re undesirable? Do you really think that I, who am a totally awesome catch, by the way, would want _you_ if you were such a terrible Alpha? Hell, why do you think I’m _jealous_ of Becky? Sam, you’re an _amazing_ Alpha. The _right_ Alpha for me. You’re handsome and you smell wonderful and you care about other people and _that’s_ why this is happening. It’s not your fault. I know I overreacted at first, but that’s because I thought that picture was more recent. I’m mad as hell at Becky, and if I see her, you should probably worry more about her safety than mine. But I am _not_ mad at you, Sam.”

Gabriel watched as Sam searched his face during his tirade. When he was finished, Sam pulled him closer for a searing, if teary, kiss. He pulled away long enough to murmur, “I don’t deserve you, Omega,” before diving in for a second one. 

“Mmmm.” Gabriel hummed into Sam’s mouth and kissed him back with equal fervor. If this was something his Alpha needed, he was more than happy to provide it. After a few minutes of exchanging kisses, he rolled onto his back and pulled Sam along with him. 

“I love you, Gabriel. You’re too good to me,” Sam told him the next time they broke apart. 

“Only as good as you deserve, Alpha,” Gabriel retorted as Sam began kissing down his neck toward his scent gland. “Now, come on, Sam, show me that I’m the only Omega for you.” He reached a hand down, and found that Sam was already hard. Sam let out a pleased growl as Gabriel took his cock in hand and started stroking it. Sam’s fingers found the waistband of Gabriel’s boxers, and his long arms started working them down his legs. 

As soon as they were down far enough, Gabriel kicked them off--well, mostly; they ended up around one ankle. The important thing was that they weren’t in the way. He spread his legs apart and moaned when Sam’s fingers probed at his entrance; he was already producing some slick and felt the flow increase as he began to let himself relax. 

BZZZZZZZT. The apartment buzzer startled them both, and they stared with wide eyes at each other until Gabriel snorted and started laughing; Sam quickly followed suit. “Ignore it,” Gabriel suggested, giving Sam a firm stroke. 

BZZZZZZZT. Gabriel groaned as Sam sighed and pulled away from him. “It better not be a fucking forgotten key again,” he muttered, but he got up, pulled up his boxers, and went to answer the bell. 

Gabriel could only hear half of the conversation. “Hello? Sorry, who is this? Oh! Yes, I’m Sam. Of course you can come up.” Gabriel growled in annoyance, but put his own boxers back on and waited for Sam. 

When he returned, Sam looked panicked. “It’s the police,” he explained. He grabbed his jeans and tried to pull them up so fast that he nearly fell. 

“Goddamnit,” Gabriel replied, but sat up and reached for his own jeans. Of all the times! He supposed that they were just looking into what had happened that morning, but that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. 

Sam got dressed first and hurried back out toward the living room. When Gabriel finished getting dressed, he went into the bathroom and put some scent neutralizer on. Many police officers were Alphas, and he didn’t want them smelling his arousal; Sam had enough to deal with without having to respond to another Alpha’s reaction to his fragrant, if already mated, Omega. 

When he finally left the bedroom (he wanted to stay in the nest, but knew he needed to be present to support Sam and his story), he found Sam pacing very much like their ancestors would have in such an enclosed space. “Sam, calm down. You haven’t done anything wrong.” 

“I know.” Sam ran his fingers through his hair and let out a frustrated noise. “But it’s annoying.” 

Gabriel walked over and slid his arms around his Alpha. “We’ll get through it, Sam. Just like we’ve gotten through everything else.” 

Sam smiled softly down at him. “You’re right,” he said, hugging Gabriel back and then kissing him on the tip of his nose. Gabriel nearly growled again when there was a knock at the door, but instead he stepped back away from Sam--and the door. 

Sam bent to peer through the peephole in the door, then unlocked and opened it. Gabriel wanted to try to soothe him again, because he could smell how anxious Sam was, but he knew better than to get in his way right now. 

“Hi there.” A huge bear of a white man stood next to a smaller man of African descent. The bear, who had an accent, was the one speaking. “I’m Detective Lafitte, and this here’s Detective Henriksen. We’re looking for Sam Winchester?” Both men looked relaxed, but Gabriel got the impression that they could move in a hurry if they needed to. 

“I’m Sam Winchester, and this is my mate, Gabriel. Please, come in.” Sam gestured back toward Gabriel, who gave the men a little wave, and then led the way to the kitchen table, which had four chairs. “Would you like some water, or coffee?” He was being scrupulously polite, but Gabriel could see through his act and knew exactly how uncomfortable his mate was. 

“I wouldn’t mind a glass of water, cher,” rumbled the large man in a Cajun accent as he pulled out a chair and sat down. “If’n it’s not too much trouble.”

“I’m fine,” said the other man in a clipped tone. Once he sat, he looked over at Gabriel. The Omega found his stare disconcerting, and looked away despite himself. The pair were on at least mild scent-blockers, because he couldn’t smell anything, but that wasn’t all that surprising. 

“Not at all. Ice?” Sam asked as he walked over and opened the refrigerator. Gabriel was proud of him; even most well-meaning Alphas would probably look to the Omega in the room at this point, expecting them to fetch the drink. 

“No, thank ya,” Detective Lafitte replied. Sam poured him a glass of filtered water and set it down in front of him, then pulled out a seat at the table and gestured for Gabriel to come take it. He took the last chair himself. Gabriel couldn’t blame him for the fact that the seat he’d chosen for the Omega was just a little behind Sam’s. 

“I presume this is about what happened this morning? Is Becky all right?” Sam asked as Detective Lafitte took a polite sip of water. Gabriel was pretty sure by now that he was an Alpha, but he had a manner that was clearly designed to set people at ease. Henricksen, on the other hand, had an edge about him; Gabriel could see why they made a good team. 

“That’s right,” agreed Lafitte. “She was taken to the hospital for observation, but had no wounds on her. Would ya mind telling us, in your own words, what happened?” Henricksen finally looked away from Gabriel, taking out a notebook and a pen and poising the latter over the former. 

Sam nodded, and, starting with the arrival of the first pink envelope, told his side of the story. The detectives asked about the envelopes, and Sam explained that they’d thrown them all out. Victor made a note of that--and most everything else that Sam said. Occasionally, one of them interrupted to ask him to clarify a point, but for the most part, they sat and listened to him talk. 

Gabriel kept quiet as Sam spoke, except to confirm that he patched Sam up and that Sam had bruises on his knee as well as his face. He was wishing he hadn’t made Sam throw all of the envelopes out; they would have backed up Sam’s story. Hindsight was 20/20, he supposed. 

“Is she going to try to press charges for something?” Sam asked when they were done going over the story. 

“No,” Lafitte replied. “When she came to, she agreed that y’all hadn’t hurt her physically.” 

Sam was already too much of a lawyer to let out a sigh of relief, but Gabriel found himself doing it for him. He’d been terrified that Becky would lie about what happened and somehow get Sam in trouble.

“But,” Lafitte said, and Gabriel glanced up at him sharply, “She does claim that you’re her true mate, and that she collapsed due to pining sickness. So far, the doc agrees with her.”

“What!?” Gabriel shouted, nearly jumping out of his chair. 

“Forgive me, detectives, but that’s ludicrous,” Sam said with a great deal more diplomacy, if no less heat. “Gabriel and I are true mates.” He set a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder and squeezed it possessively. “As far as I know, it’s impossible to have two.”

“Do you have proof of the fact that you two are true mates?” Detective Henriksen asked. 

Gabriel looked at Sam, who frowned and admitted, “No. We didn’t do genetic compatibility testing before we mated, because we already knew what we were.” 

“Unfortunately,” Lafitte rumbled calmly, “That means that, as long as her doc doesn’t change his mind, you’re required to visit her in the hospital for a minimum of an hour every other day. Officially, she needs to get a court order, and, after that, we could force you to go. We’d be obliged to ya if you’d be willin’ to go without a fuss; easier on everyone involved.”

“No way! She’s totally faking it!” Gabriel interjected. He ducked out from under Sam’s hand and leapt to his feet, shaking his finger at Detective Lafitte because he wasn’t suicidal enough to wave it at Henricksen. “You can’t _make_ someone go see their stalker!”

“Gabriel.” Sam sounded a whole lot more calm than Gabriel felt. “They can, actually; the law was passed a couple of decades ago after an Omega died because her true mate refused to see her.” He stood, and gently wrapped his arms around Gabriel, who could actually smell the burning scent coming off of himself at this point. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but the only thing I can do in response is to get a court order for a DNA test to prove that we’re not true mates and therefore she won’t be harmed if she’s forced to stay away from me.” 

The two detectives nodded. “If you agree to be reasonable about this,” Lafitte told him, unaffected by Gabriel’s posturing, “And not fight the visitation, we’ve got a sample of her DNA already. We could take a sample from ya and run them in the lab, since it’s obvious we’ll have to do it anyway at some point. Otherwise, if you’re right, you’ll prolly have to fight her in court to get a sample.”

Gabriel felt Sam nod slowly. “How long will the test take?” he asked the detectives, pulling Gabriel back against his chest. 

Detective Lafitte gave him a sympathetic look. “Prolly a couple a’ months,” he admitted. “If I were you, I’d have your doctors do a genetic test on the two of you. If that comes back sayin’ you’re true mates, some judge’d prolly be willin’ to stop the mandatory visits until our results come back.”

Gabriel’s heart sunk. It was his fault they didn’t have money for frivolities like genetic testing right now. And yes, he could just ask for some from his parents (who were loaded), but that would feel like defeat. “Well,” Sam said, “I guess take my DNA, then, and we’ll see what we can do.” He pulled Gabriel with him as he sat down again, so that the Omega ended up in his lap. “As long as you put the sample in the queue right away, I’ll agree to make the visitations willingly until a judge says otherwise.”

“Okay. This will only take a minute.” Henriksen was the one who pulled out gloves and a sterile DNA swab. As soon as he had everything ready to go, including a labeled evidence bag, Sam opened his mouth and let the detective swab it. Gabriel just concentrated on not growling at Henricksen, no matter how much he wanted to.

“All done,” Henricksen announced a few minutes later, putting the swab back into its container and then into the bag and sealing it. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

“You’re welcome,” Sam said. “I assume you know what hospital and room she’s at? And who will be keeping track of when and for how long I visit? I’d prefer that a neutral party confirms that.”

Detective Lafitte gave him the hospital and room number--Becky was apparently at the university hospital--and explained that Sam could check in and out with the nurses. A hospital security guard would escort Sam during his visit to make sure nothing untoward happened. “All a judge can require you to do is sit in a visitor’s chair near her bed. You don’t have to speak or do anythin’ else, but you can’t be wearin’ scent blockers, obviously.”

“Can I take medication to reduce my own sense of smell?” Sam asked. “I have a very sensitive nose.”

“Sure,” Lafitte nodded. “No rule about that.” 

Gabriel’s heart soared when Sam asked, “Can Gabriel come with me?” The Omega quickly looked over at the detectives, who both appeared dubious. 

“As long as the doc don’t say he can’t, I suppose he can,” Benny said after thinking. “But if he started anything, the hospital’d be well within their rights to ask him to leave.” 

“I can behave myself,” Gabriel stated flatly, eyes narrowed at Detective Lafitte. 

Sam chuckled, and pulled him closer. “Don’t worry. I know how to keep him quiet _and_ make sure my scent’s strong enough for scent therapy.” 

Gabriel’s eyes went wide, and he jerked his head around to stare at Sam. “Sam! Did you just sugge--” and then Sam was kissing him and smelling just the slightest bit smug. 

“See?” Sam asked, eyes twinkling when he finally pulled away. 

Lafitte let out a belly laugh. “As long as you’re prepared for her to complain to her doctor that that makes her pinin’ sickness worse,” he said, climbing to his feet. Henricksen followed his lead. 

“She can complain all she wants,” Sam replied with a shrug, standing and setting Gabriel down. “But no law says what it is I have to be doing when I’m making regular scent visits. And I wouldn’t want my _actual_ true mate to get pining sickness because his imagination conjured up all sorts of awful things I could be doing with some other Omega every other day for an hour.” 

As Gabriel stared up at Sam, he decided he wouldn’t bother to employ what little brain-to-mouth filter he had this time. “Could you two show yourselves out? Because right now I really have to show my Alpha just how much I love him.” 

The detectives laughed, and left, promising to call Sam with the results of the test as soon as they had them. 

Gabriel immediately turned to Sam and started working on the button of his jeans. “Where were we before they so _rudely_ interrupted us?” he mused. 

“Gabriel, I’m not complaining, but shouldn’t we talk about--”

“_Later_,” Gabriel growled, flashing gold eyes up at Sam. “Go get in our nest, Alpha. I’ll make sure the door’s locked and then join you.” 

“...Yes, Omega,” Sam replied meekly. He obeyed, too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Gabriel visit Becky in the hospital.

Neither Gabriel nor Sam was in the best of moods when they finally made their way to the hospital a day later. Gabriel wanted to be there, to see what was said between Becky and Sam, but he also wasn’t sure he could fully control himself. Challenges between Omegas had been rare in the distant past, but not unheard of--and he didn’t doubt he could take Becky in a fight. Of course, such a thing wasn’t Done and they had to be all Civilized or some shit now. He kicked a rock to show it what he thought of being civilized.

Gabriel must have also growled under his breath without realizing it again, because Sam shot him a quelling look. He immediately felt guilty: many people believed that an ill-behaved Omega, even though it really should only be held against the Omega in question, reflected on the Alpha. Gabriel didn’t want to make Sam look _or_ feel bad, but this situation was bringing out the worst in him. 

Sam reached over and set a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it before letting go. Gabriel tried to remind himself that Sam didn’t want to have to go through this any more than he did, but it wasn’t _Sam’s_ status as his true mate that was being challenged. Still, when they climbed into the elevator for the trip up to the floor Becky was on, Gabriel was happy to be pulled back against Sam, and even happier when Sam leaned down to whisper in his ear, “Just remember I love you. No matter what.”

Gabriel let out a long sigh. Leaning back into Sam’s arms, he replied quietly, “I love you, too.” He wished the elevator ride would last forever, but of course all too soon they were climbing out. 

Sam found the nurse’s station nearest Becky’s room and explained who he was and why he was there. She sniffed him to make sure he wasn’t wearing scent-blockers (Gabriel frowned), and then asked him to wait while she called security. Sam took a few steps back, pulling Gabriel with him. “I hate this,” Gabriel told him. 

“Me too.” Sam replied. “But maybe she’ll have a change of heart once she meets you.” He didn’t sound particularly convinced, and Gabriel let him know how probable _he_ thought that was with a snort. 

Too soon, a burly Alpha security guard had arrived, and led them into Becky’s room. Gabriel had to give the bitch this much--she honestly looked sick. She was emaciated, with sunken eyes and pale skin. Sam looked around, and then took a seat in a chair near her bed. He let Gabriel decide whether to sit in a chair next to him or on his lap; after a short hesitation, Gabriel took the seat next to him. He knew that Sam wanted to try to talk to her, and he’d have more luck without Gabriel distracting him. The security guard leaned up against the wall next to Gabriel. 

After a minute or two, Becky stirred. “...Alpha?” she mumbled. “...bring me...rolls?” She blinked her eyes open, and Gabriel couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the stereotypical picture of Omega helplessness she presented. He immediately hated her and her stupid dyed, messed-up hair, emaciated or not. 

Sam took a deep breath. “I’m not your Alpha, Becky,” he said evenly. “And I didn’t bring you food. You’re smelling my mate--my _true_ mate, Gabriel.” He set a hand on Gabriel’s back. 

Becky ignored his statement--and Gabriel. “Alpha. You came,” she said, breaking into a bright smile as if she hadn’t heard his previous statement. “I knew you wouldn’t leave me.” Gabriel had to grit his teeth so he didn’t growl at her. 

Sam ignored her statement as thoroughly as she’d ignored his. “Becky. Where are your parents?”

“Dead. Car crash,” she said dreamily, looking over at Sam with doe-eyes. “There’s just you for me now, Sam.” Gabriel hated her for playing to Sam’s protective Alpha instincts. 

Sam frowned. “Any other family?”

Becky shook her head. “Just you, Alpha. Please--I want to go home. Take me home?”

“Becky,” Sam said with more patience than Gabriel had in his entire body, “Listen to me. I know you think that I’m your true mate. But I’m not. Gabriel, here, is my true mate.” Becky’s eyes didn’t even move in Gabriel’s direction. “We’re having a test done to prove it, but...you can’t be pining for me. Have you smelled any other Alphas recently?” Gabriel realized that Sam thought she actually had pining sickness, and he rolled his eyes again. Couldn’t Sam tell she was faking it?

“No, only you,” Becky answered quickly, shaking her head. “I saw you, in that commercial, and I remembered you and knew you were my Alpha, and then I smelled you when you were out jogging. You smell so good, Sam. I’m such a lucky Omega.”

“Becky...when was your parents’ car crash?” Sam asked. 

“March.” Even Gabriel had to wince at that. No wonder she was so messed up, if she’d lost her parents only a few months ago. He hated himself, but he actually felt a little sorry for her.

“I’m sorry,” and for once Gabriel didn’t begrudge the sympathy in Sam’s tone. “But Becky, I don’t think you’re well.”

“That’s because I’m pining for you, silly,” Becky told him. “But now you’re here and you can take me home and mate me and we’ll have so many pups! What do you think about naming one Danielle, after my mother?” 

Sam stared at Becky; Gabriel didn’t think he’d ever seen Sam well and truly speechless before. He could hardly blame him, though. Sam was right; Becky was delusional, and it wasn’t completely clear if she knew it or not. As she continued to prattle on, about how if he didn’t like Danielle they could potentially name one of their boys Danny instead, Sam looked, first to Gabriel, and then to the security guard, who just shrugged. Not his problem, clearly. 

Sam waited until Becky had wound herself down on the topic of pups. “I’m not here to take you home, Becky. I’m here for an hour-long scent therapy visit every other day, because if and when you get a lawyer, they’ll get a court order for it. But I am _already mated, very happily_, to Gabriel here. Look.” He pulled down the collar of his shirt, so she could clearly see his mating bite. “And when the DNA test comes back, it’s going to show that we aren’t true mates. I’m sorry, but you need to start thinking about what you’re going to do when it does. Because if we aren’t true mates you can’t be pining for me.” 

“I know you believe all that, Sam, but you’re wrong. You’ll see,” Becky told him, shaking her head. “You don’t really love him, you just think you do. I’ll be a _proper_ Omega to you. _I’d_ never mark your beautiful skin like that, and I won’t follow you everywhere you go because _I’ll_ always trust you, Sam, no matter what.” 

“Why you--” Gabriel growled, and suddenly found the heavy hand of the security guard on his shoulder. He realized he’d started to stand up, and sat back down. The security guard gave Gabriel an amused look, and Gabriel glared at him in return.

“Gabriel.” The Omega couldn’t believe how calm Sam sounded; he wanted to chew nails. And spit them at Becky. Like a machine gun. Sam reached out to turn Gabriel’s face away from the security guard and toward him; the Omega allowed it, but narrowed his eyes for good measure. “Please don’t get yourself thrown out of here. I want you here with me. Remember what I told you before we came in.” _I love you, no matter what,_ Gabriel remembered, and his glare softened. Sam smiled at him. “That’s right, babe.” Sam leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. 

Once Gabriel was no longer about to launch himself at Becky, Sam turned back to her. “I love Gabriel and everything he does, including his mating bites. Now. I came in here to see if I could help you realize that you need help--from a therapist, not a doctor. Right now, I’m still willing to try to talk with you. But so help me, Becky if you insult my mate--if you insult _Gabriel Winchester_ one more time, I won’t say another word to you until I’m waving the DNA report in your face and telling you I told you so.” 

Gabriel’s eyes widened in astonishment, and then he began to grin. Score one for Sam! He knew there was a reason he loved the Alpha. 

Becky gaped at Sam like a fish. “But--but--” She finally actually looked, really looked, over at Gabriel, and began to frown. “Why on Earth would you even _want_ him? His face is all...crooked, and he does _not_ have proper birthing hips.” She sneered at Gabriel, and he returned the look with interest. 

“Enough,” Sam snapped, in his Alpha voice, and Becky’s eyes went wide and she quieted immediately. Gabriel smirked at her, mostly because he could. “We’re done talking.” 

Gabriel wanted to do a little dance as Sam resolutely stared across the room instead of at Becky; there was no way she could start the conversation up again without making a liar of herself and disobeying ‘her’ Alpha. 

Gabriel considered climbing into Sam’s lap, or starting up an unrelated conversation (although he wasn’t sure he really wanted Becky to overhear anything they might say to one another). At that moment, though, Sam moved his arm, and Gabriel had an idea. It was like that one scene in the Grinch, but instead of his heart growing three sizes, Gabriel became Petty Prince Pettiness, ruler of all Pettyville. And he embraced it as he reached out and gently pulled Sam’s injured arm to him. Sam had taken the bandage off so that the wound could get some air, and the ointment had long since rubbed off. 

Sam let him have the arm, though he gave him an odd look. Gabriel wasn’t paying attention to his mate, however. Instead, he made eye contact with Becky. And then stuck his tongue out. And began licking Sam’s injured forearm. Sam made a low, surprised noise, but didn’t pull his arm away. Becky glared daggers at Gabriel. No, not just daggers, full-on broadswords. If looks could kill, Gabriel would have a DNR order stapled to his forehead. 

He was surprised at not only how intimate it felt, but how right. He’d licked his own wounds occasionally, and this was really no different aside from the taste, which was obviously Sam’s and not his. He felt the scabs loosen a little as he worked, making them more pliant, which would help the skin grow back faster. He worked his saliva in, making sure the wound wouldn’t get infected. In almost no time at all, he’d forgotten why he was licking Sam’s arm and had just closed his eyes and surrendered to the process. 

After a while, he realized that Sam was slowly running his other hand through his hair, and that Gabriel was purring. He blinked his eyes open in surprise, and looked up to find Sam giving him a slightly dopey smile. Apparently, his mate was thoroughly enjoying the intimate gesture. In that moment, they may have been in the middle of a hospital surrounded by other people, but only the two of them existed. 

Of course, Sam’s phone alarm went off as they stared at each other. Gabriel sat back, surprised--he knew Sam had set it for an hour. Just how long had he been licking Sam’s arm? He chanced a look over at Becky, and actually felt himself pale slightly. Judging by the look on her face, yes, he’d been caring for Sam’s wound for the better part of an hour. He’d honestly completely lost track of time. 

Sam looked to the security guard, and stood up. “Goodbye, Becky,” he said in a tone that made Gabriel shiver. “I would highly recommend you ask your doctor about a good therapist.” Ouch. Gabriel got up and led the way out of the room, though he could sense Sam close behind him. 

Sam took the lead once they were back in the hallway, making his way over to the nurses’ station. “I need to check out,” he explained, “But I also want to make it clear that I believe she should be seen by a psychologist. She apparently lost her parents recently, and she’s under the mistaken impression that we’re true mates. I’m already mated,” he said, gesturing to Gabriel, “And I can’t even stand her scent; there’s no way that we’re true mates. The police are doing a genetic compatibility test, and I’m really concerned about how she’ll react when she finds out she can’t possibly be pining for me.” 

The nurse at the station nodded. “I’ll leave a note for her doctor,” she promised, “but as you’re probably aware, there are privacy and other concerns with issues like this.” 

“I know,” Sam said, softening his tone. “But I want her to get help. I don’t want her to be devastated when the reality she’s constructed in her head comes crashing down.” 

“We’ll see what we can do,” the nurse promised. Sam nodded, and then turned to Gabriel. He gathered the Omega into a brief hug before interlacing their fingers and leading him back toward the elevator. 

Gabriel studied Sam as they headed back down to the main floor. The Alpha looked exhausted, and it was still morning. After his absence yesterday, Gabriel really had to make more than just a token appearance at the bakery. Unfortunately, he knew Sam wouldn’t go home without him; Sam had refused to let the Omega out of his sight ever since he’d run into Becky. Normally, that would annoy Gabriel, but after seeing for himself how messed up the other Omega was, he could see why Sam was concerned for him. 

Gabriel had his own concerns, though he didn’t give voice to them until they’d climbed back in the car. “What if she’s right?” he asked suddenly, unable to stop himself from blurting it out. 

“What?” Sam turned to look at him, confusion written all over his face. 

“What if we’re wrong, and she really is your true mate?”

“Gabriel. If she really was my true mate, I’d be pining for her, not sneezing whenever I get close because I can’t stand her scent,” Sam pointed out calmly. 

“Yeah, but...I mean, what if she really were?” Gabriel persisted. 

Sam shook his head. “Not much would change. They could force me to make regular scent visits. I wouldn’t have to mate her or...oh, Gabriel.” The Omega didn’t realize he was crying until Sam put his arms around him and pulled him close. “They couldn’t make me give you up, don’t worry. You’re my mate, and _nothing_ is going to change that. Ever.” 

Gabriel wiped at his eyes and sniffled, hating the hormones that made him susceptible to bursting into tears. Sam gave him a moment or two to collect himself, and then released him in order to start the car. “By the way,” the Alpha said, sounding almost embarrassed, “I...liked what you did in there. No one’s ever done that for me before.” 

It took Gabriel a few seconds to figure out what Sam meant, and then he felt himself blush. “Oh...that. It just felt right. But I’m glad you liked it.” Making a snap decision, he turned back to face the front as they pulled out of the parking lot. “Let’s stop at Starbucks on the way to Sprinkles!”

“Gabriel, we said we were going to save money--”

“I know what we said. But we’re going to splurge, just this once. You look exhausted, and we’ve both been working hard. We deserve it,” Gabriel insisted. “And the construction so far is coming in under bid.”

Sam groaned. “You know it won’t stay that way,” he warned Gabriel. Apparently the Omega had convinced him, however, because Sam changed lanes so that he could turn into the nearest Starbucks.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sprinkles! finally opens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but have a monster of a chapter that barely advances the plot at all yet doesn't contain smut. Call it food porn? Food fluff? Something like that.

Gabriel glanced at the clock. 2:30 AM. With a sigh, he gently extricated himself from Sam’s octopus-like hold, and replaced himself with his pillow. His Alpha had tried hard to distract him last night, but it hadn’t worked. Today was the grand opening of Sprinkles! (yes, the exclamation point was important), and Gabriel couldn’t sleep. He knew he’d regret it later, but for now, he padded around the room, getting dressed as quietly as he could before returning to the nest to watch Sam sleep. 

Sam’s face, where it was half pressed into a pillow, was smooth, and it made Gabriel smile. Sam was the one that wasn’t supposed to be stressed out this summer, but it hadn’t ended up that way. The DNA test hadn’t come back yet, which meant that Sam was still making regular visits to Becky, now at an outpatient clinic since she’d ‘recovered’ from the pining sickness thanks to his scent visits. Gabriel allowed himself to glower. He hadn’t gone with Sam every time--he’d been too busy with Sprinkles!--but he’d gone enough to know that Becky wasn’t any more sane than she had been to begin with. Sam had tried to help her, but she’d refused in order to stay in her imaginary world. 

“Must be nice in there,” he muttered to himself as he slipped out of their bedroom. Marching into the office, he wrote a quick note and then left it on the table where Sam would see it. He raided the refrigerator for an energy drink--he didn’t feel like eating, yet, and besides, there would be plenty to eat at Sprinkles! if he wanted--and cracked it open while dialling a car service that ferried Omegas safely from one location to another. It was, perhaps, an unnecessary expense, but he didn’t want to wake Sam and, even though they were just a few blocks from the bakery, Gabriel wasn’t about to walk that distance at three in the morning. 

He might not always learn every lesson the universe tried to teach him, but he had definitely learned that one. Besides, if Sam thought he wasn’t using the service… Sam had gradually let him spend more time by himself as Becky proved to not be the threat to Gabriel Sam had thought she was, but that didn’t mean Sam wanted him walking down the street on his own in the middle of the night. 

And rightly so. Gabriel shuddered as he took a swig from the can and made his way into the elevator. He could still remember Gordon’s voice as he asked for the time and then the medical scent of chloroform as a rag soaked in it covered his nose and mouth. Was it safe for him to walk from his apartment to his bakery? Probably, but he wasn’t going to take that chance. Not when he could still hear Alistair’s awful voice whispering into his ear about what would have happened to him in Mexico. 

He made a face. “Get a grip, Gabe,” he told himself, frowning at the can of liquid caffeine. The elevator dinged, and he let himself out, walking over to the doorway. He waited there for the car to pull up; his phone would beep to signal that it was the correct one. 

When it did, he left the apartment and practically skipped out to the car. “Hey, Tessa,” he said as he opened the passenger door--this wasn’t the first time he’d been unable to sleep and in need of a ride.

“Hey Gabe.” He liked the Beta; she was nice. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Nope,” he agreed, closing the door and fastening his seat belt. “And today’s the big day!”

“That’s great,” the dark-haired woman enthused, putting the car back into gear. “I’ll be sure to come by later, once you’re open. Didn’t want to wake the old ball and chain up?”

“Nope,” Gabriel replied, popping the ‘p.’ “Sam’s been working really hard, and he needs the sleep. He gets grumpy otherwise,” he added, winking at her. 

Tessa laughed, and shook her head. “We wouldn’t want that,” she said as she drove the few blocks to Sprinkles! “Though somehow, I just can’t picture him getting mad at you.”

“He doesn’t,” Gabriel agreed. “He just gets,” and here he shuddered, “...disappointed.”

“Oh, dear,” Tessa replied. “That’s worse.”

“Way worse,” Gabriel agreed as she pulled around to the back door of the bakery. He unbuckled his seat belt and hopped out. “Thanks for the ride, as always, and maybe I’ll see you later.”

“I’ll be there,” Tessa promised before he closed the door. She made no move to move the car, though; she always made certain that Gabriel had unlocked the door and gone in to the bakery before she left. Sure, it was standard for the service’s drivers, but Gabriel still appreciated it--especially now, when the headlights of the car made it that much easier for him to use his keys. 

He heard Tessa drive away as he closed the door behind him and flipped on the lights. “This is it!” he announced to the appliances. He considered his aprons, and then tied on the one that read, “I drank the candlestick maker under the table.” He made some notes in the log, booted up the computer system, looked at the inventory (although he practically had it memorized) and started baking. 

.oOOo.

Jack and Sam arrived at a more reasonable hour, within minutes of one another. Jack threw on an apron and started helping Gabriel right away, but Sam walked over to greet his Omega first. “You used the car service?” he asked quietly, slipping his arms around Gabriel from behind. 

Gabriel leaned back into him, and looked up, nodding. “Yeah,” he confirmed. “I promised I would.” 

“Thank you. I love you. Today’s going to be amazing,” Sam told him, leaning down to peck at his lips. 

Gabriel allowed the kiss, and then playfully pushed Sam away. “Not if I don’t get baking!” he exclaimed, pointing Sam toward the aprons. Sam was still not allowed to do any baking, but he fetched large sacks of flour and sugar from the store room and would be running the till later. He was also allowed to brew the coffee; he made a pot for them when Gabriel’s energy drink ran out--though only he and Gabriel partook; Jack seemed to have enough energy for all three of them without ever touching caffeine. 

Once Gabriel and Jack had all they needed to work, Sam double-checked the front part of the store. It had a handful of colorful chairs and tables for anyone who wanted to sit down, in addition to the counter and display cases. There was wi-fi, but the password changed daily and customers had to ask for it--although for the grand opening, the password was chalked on one of many signs Gabriel had put up. The display cases were already full of loaves of bread, cookies, cupcakes, dinner rolls, baguettes, pies, brownies, bars, and even doughnuts. When Gabriel made an ‘all-purpose’ bakery, he made one that had literally anything you could bake. He had designed the store as a place to bring pups--pups under fifteen years old got a free sugar cookie (with sprinkles) with their parents’ purchase. Or, because Sam was involved, a free carrot-oatmeal cookie (with sprinkles, because Gabriel still had _standards_). And of course, right next to the cash register, in pride of place, was a small mountain of delicious cinnamon rolls Gabriel had baked this morning. It made the whole place smell like him, and Sam loved it. 

Sam checked the cash register, making sure they had enough change, and glanced over all of the signs to make sure everything was ready to go and properly priced when they opened. He didn’t have much of an eye for decoration, but Gabriel certainly did; the place looked and felt amazing--warm and welcoming without being stifling. 

Gabriel allowed Sam to cut up various desserts and loaves to create ‘free samples,’ of which they’d be giving out lots today. The plan was for Gabriel to man the area in front of the display cases, while Jack encouraged passers-by outside to come in and try free samples. Sam would ring people up if they bought anything.

Sam had no idea what to expect. He hoped, for Gabriel’s sake, that today went well, but he couldn’t help but worry about the sheer amount of food Gabriel and Jack had made for the first day. Unless today exceeded their expectations by quite a lot, they’d end up wasting a lot of it. Well, not wasting; Gabriel had contacted a local homeless shelter, and he had made arrangements to donate the day-old food to them at the end of the day. Which was all well and good for the shelter, but Gabriel needed to make money, or Sprinkles! wouldn’t be open long enough for those donations to make much of a difference. They had done a lot of advertising on social media and the like, but Sam didn’t know how much of a difference that would make.

He walked back into the back to find Gabriel practically vibrating from nerves (and caffeine)--they planned to open the bakery at 7, and it was almost six. Gabriel was tapping his shoe against the floor as he iced some cupcakes. “Jack! What are you doing? I said to put the sesame seeds on the _buns,_ not on the rolls!” he snapped uncharacteristically. 

From the hurt look Jack gave him when he turned around, Sam was fairly sure that Gabriel hadn’t told him any such thing. “Gabe,” Sam chided softly, putting his arms around his Omega and pulling him back into his arms again. 

Gabriel blinked, and then sighed. “Sorry!” he said. “Sorry!” His voice actually managed to be shrill when he repeated the word. “I’m just--I’m sorry, Jack, I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“That’s okay, Mr. Gabriel,” Jack said politely. “I know you just want everything to be perfect today.” 

“Nothing’s ever perfect,” Sam rumbled, cutting Gabriel’s reply off. “But it’s going to go well, regardless of where those seeds are, now isn’t it?”

Gabriel slumped against Sam. “Yes,” he admitted. “Sorry,” he added, in a more normal tone of voice. 

Sam leaned down and kissed Gabriel on top of the head before releasing him. “It’s all right. No one is at their best when they’re stressed out. But I don’t want you to lose your best employee, babe.” Jack beamed at Sam’s compliment from across the room, even though he was still their only employee. 

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Jack. Just...keep doing what you’re doing, and I’ll finish these cupcakes.” 

“Okay, Mr. Gabriel.” Sam loved Jack’s name for his mate; Mr. Gabriel was just so...fitting. And adorable, not that he’d ever tell Gabriel. He knew he should probably be a little jealous of Jack, as close as he was to his Omega, but Sam also knew Gabriel wasn’t interested in anyone but him. He couldn’t fathom why, but the whiskey-eyed man only ever gave Sam the look he was giving him now--the look that made Sam really wish they had more time before Sprinkles! opened. 

Unfortunately, it was time to brew the coffee for guests--Sprinkles! didn’t carry many beverages, but customers who ‘dined’ in could get water, coffee, and bottled juices from a local juice bar. Sam vaguely wondered if anyone would drink any of the decaf, but he brewed a pot of it along with the normal stuff and filled the two machines, which sat near the register. Next, he opened up the blinds, letting light into the store, before heading back to the back, where Gabriel was shoving another tray of sugar cookies into the oven. “It’s almost time,” Sam told them. “Jack, you should probably take one of your breaks before we open.” 

“Okay, Mr. Winchester.” They had a break area in the back which had a fridge for their lunches and an area to plug in cell phone chargers and the like. Jack took off his apron and headed in that direction. 

Gabriel gave Sam a look that suggested he might be sick. “What if I’ve forgotten--” he started, but Sam leaned in and interrupted him with a kiss. “...You make a very convincing argument,” Gabriel murmured, when they finally broke apart. 

Sam laughed. “I’d better, if I’m going to be a lawyer,” he said. “You go check things out front. Anything back here that still needs to be done that I can do?”

“We could use another sack of sugar,” Gabriel instructed. He glanced in a mirror and swiped some flour off of his cheek, then headed toward the front. Sam just smiled as he walked back to the storeroom to retrieve the sugar. 

.oOOo.

Kelly Kline was their first customer that morning. She walked over and hugged Gabriel right off the bat. “Thank you so much for giving my little boy a job,” she told him. 

“He’s worth every penny,” Gabriel replied. “You raised him really well.” 

“God knows I tried,” she laughed, pulling away and shaking her head. “It was touch-and-go there for a bit, but… Wow,” she added, looking around. “This place is amazing! And you have everything! And you’re so close to our apartment!”

“Thanks,” Gabriel said, beaming. “And thanks for putting up with the, ah, ‘half-baked’ trials that didn’t work out for the last month or two. Pun completely intended, of course.” 

“Are you kidding? Not having to buy all that saved us so much money,” Kelly told Sam’s mate as a couple of potential customers wandered in, directed by Jack to the plates of free samples. “You want to get their whole wheat bread; you won’t regret it,” Kelly told them. 

Gabriel laughed. “You sure you don’t work here?” he asked Kelly. “Speaking of which, if you really don’t mind working with your son, we’d love to have you. Even just part time.” 

“I’ll think about it, but you should go talk to your other customers,” Kelly told him, smiling and making her way over to Sam. 

“So, a loaf of whole wheat, anything else?” Sam asked her, grinning. 

“Let’s see, half a dozen dinner rolls and...I’d better get a baguette; I’ll do spaghetti with garlic bread tomorrow,” Kelly told him as he sliced her loaf. “Thank you, too, by the way,” she added as he rang her up and she handed over some cash. “Jack looks up to you. With his dad out of the picture, it’s nice that he has some male role models.” 

Sam gave her back her change and handed over the bag. “Like Gabriel said, Jack’s a hard worker and a really good kid. I’ll be happy if my pups turn out half as good as he has,” he joked, winking at her as she stepped out of the way so a couple of college kids could buy some danishes. 

“I’m sure they will,” Kelly told him as he quickly rang the college students up before pouring them coffee. “Are you planning to start trying soon?”

Sam shrugged, and glanced over at Gabriel, who was entertaining some commuters who were chewing free samples thoughtfully. “It’s up to him. It might be better to wait until I’m finished with law school, but...it’s not as if I’ll be that much less busy once I’m done with that. Speaking of pups,” he added. “Hey, Cas!” He’d just spotted the tall Omega walking in, carrying little Mary. 

“Hi, Sam!” Cas made his way to the cash register before looking around. “Wow, you’ve done wonders with this place!” 

“It was mostly Gabriel,” Sam told him. “Kelly, this is Castiel, my brother’s mate, and my niece Mary. Cas, this is Kelly; she’s Jack’s mom.” 

“Oh, the boy outside,” Cas agreed, shifting Mary to his other arm so he could shake Kelly’s hand. “I’ve heard a lot about him--all good,” he hastened to add. “I heard you raised him on your own. I can’t imagine raising Mary here by myself.” 

The two Omegas instantly dove into a conversation about pups while Sam rang up more customers; Jack was convincing a solid percentage of the passers-by to at least come in and have a free sample. Almost everyone who took a free sample ended up buying something, which Sam was happy about. 

Gabriel, of course, came barrelling over with a sugar cookie as soon as he spotted Cas and his niece. He completely ignored Cas’ explanation for why Dean couldn’t come (he was working a double shift), and instead grabbed Mary and started feeding her bits of frosted cookie. Sam couldn’t help but laugh as she enjoyed herself--and made a huge mess. “Definitely Dean’s daughter,” he said. “Next thing you know, she’ll be demanding pie.” 

“Pie?” the tiny pup repeated hopefully, making them all laugh. 

“Not until after dinner, sweetie,” Cas admonished her, using a wet-wipe to undo some of the damage Sam’s mate and his frosted cookie was doing. There was a brief lull in terms of customers, and they all enjoyed watching Mary eat a surprising amount of her cookie while Gabriel cooed over her. 

Soon, Mary started demanding to be put ‘Down!’ so she could, ‘Play!’ Of course, upon being set down, she promptly toddled as fast as her little legs could carry her away from the three Omegas. Gabriel and Kelly laughed while Cas gave chase, looking flustered. 

“You can always just drop her off here; we can look after her while you’re shopping,” Gabriel called to Cas as he finally managed to scoop Mary up. Sam winced slightly; while he’d love to babysit his niece, Sprinkles! was hardly an appropriate place for a tiny pup when he and Gabriel were busy working. 

Castiel straightened up and seemed to consider Gabriel’s offer; given his answer, Dean had been working with him on tact again. “I will keep that in mind,” he said finally, bouncing Mary as she began to cry (_great,_ Sam thought, _her first sugar-induced meltdown, and it’s all our fault…_). “In the meantime…”

“You’re not allowed to come home without pie,” Sam finished Cas’ sentence. He slid two pies, already boxed up, across the counter to the dark-haired man. “What else do you want?”

“One loaf of white bread, and one of wheat, please,” Castiel replied, smiling at his brother-in-law as he calmed Mary down. 

Sam sighed. “Dean is still such a child sometimes,” he said, slicing the loaves for Castiel and then wrapping them up and putting them in a bag with the boxes. “He won’t eat bread that ‘is contaminated with seeds and stuff,’” Sam explained to Kelly, who laughed. 

“Dean-o doesn’t know what he’s missing,” Gabriel opined, before going to talk to some potential customers about the difference between his raspberry bars with chocolate and his raspberry chocolate bars. 

Cas and Kelly eventually left, and Sprinkles! continued to attract a steady flow of curious people. Around noon, a local news crew showed up and did an interview with Gabriel and some of the customers. Sam watched Gabriel fondly, chuckling when the news anchor made a rather questionable noise upon trying one of Gabriel’s special cinnamon rolls. The Omega was, as always, perfect in front of the camera, and Sam found himself zoning out for a moment or two, watching his mate work the crowd. 

When he finally looked around again, Sam could see how this sort of life appealed to Gabriel. Not only was he sharing his talent with the world (and making money in the process), but Gabriel got to talk to everyone who came in, learning about them and what they needed/wanted in a local bakery. He was a surprisingly good salesman, and talked more than one person into buying more than they had initially wanted. Sam, meanwhile, was content being behind the register rather than the center of everyone’s attention. 

That afternoon, Chuck came in to say hello and do some writing, jokingly deploring the fact that he now had to pay for his son’s treats. His presence (which had apparently been announced on social media) attracted a few of his fans, and while Sprinkles! wasn’t as crowded that afternoon as it had been that morning, they still had a decent number of people coming in and out of the shop. A few students emulated Chuck and began working at their own tables, too, ordering a steady stream of muffins, cookies, and coffee. 

Sam forced Gabriel to take a long lunch break, which included a nap in addition to the (nutritious) lunch Sam had packed for him. He and Jack then traded off ‘lunch’ breaks that afternoon. 

Chuck eventually left, after bidding his youngest good luck, but not before declaring Sprinkles! an excellent place in which to write and noting that he would be back. A reporter appeared from a local paper, and Sam let him into the back to speak with Gabriel, who was already working on making dough for tomorrow. Sam smiled as he heard his mate go on about how they had sourced as much as they could locally, were employing locals, and the like. 

Jack earned every penny he made that day, cycling from the back to the front depending on what Gabriel needed. Gabriel was careful not to snap at him again, and Sam appreciated the fact that, when Gabriel asked Jack to do something, Jack didn’t check with Sam first--he just did it. He knew that tomorrow, when he had to go have a scent visit with Becky, Gabriel would be in good hands with Jack. 

Eventually, Gabriel flipped the ‘Open’ sign on the front door to ‘Closed’ and locked it. He turned around, and beamed at Sam and Jack. “We did it!” he said excitedly, running and leaping into Sam’s arms. 

Sam made an ‘oomph’ sound as he caught his mate. “No, Gabriel, _you_ did it,” he replied, kissing his mate’s flour-covered nose. “And I am _so_ proud of you. This was a huge success!”

“It was!” Jack agreed, setting a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “If we can keep this up, we should do really well! But we’ll need some more people to help us.” 

“We will,” Sam agreed. “Today was great, but long...and we have to do it all over again tomorrow.” Their Grand Opening specials and free samples lasted for a week. 

“Yeah, but we can space things out better,” Gabriel pointed out. “We won’t normally need two people in the front area; just one of us can handle it most of the time. Jack is much more helpful than you in the mornings and in the evenings, when we’re actually baking or getting things ready to bake for the next day. I think what we should do is have me and Jack here every morning, Sam here every afternoon and evening, and then Jack and I can trade off afternoons and evenings. At least, until we can hire some more people, if we end up needing them.”

“I think we’re going to need at least one more person,” Sam replied, setting Gabriel back down on his feet and then ruffling his hair. “Especially if you’re still set on being open six days a week. Jack’s going to earn a whole lot of overtime this week.” 

“I think Mom was honestly interested in working here,” Jack said, “And afternoon is probably a good time for her to work. I’ll talk with her, and tell you what she says tomorrow?”

“That sounds good. Now, get out of here, your shift is more than finished,” Gabriel said, softening his words with a grin. “Sam and I will clean up and get everything ready for the morning.” 

“Okay, Mr. Gabriel,” Jack said, pulling off his apron and heading toward the back. “Congratulations again!”

“Thank you, Jack; see you tomorrow morning,” Gabriel said, giving him a little wave before turning to Sam. “You clean up out here and deal with the money while I do a quick inventory and then set up the back for tomorrow morning?”

“Sure,” Sam replied, turning to fetch a cloth to use to wipe the tables down. “The muffins did surprisingly well, I think.” 

“Yeah, I noticed that too,” Gabriel responded, grabbing a clipboard and making notes on what they had and hadn’t sold while Sam cleaned up. “Especially the chocolate-chocolate chip ones. But the chocolate-chocolate chip cookies didn’t sell as well as the plain chocolate chip ones.” 

“There’s no accounting for taste.” Sam and Gabriel cleaned up, put money in the safe, got everything ready for tomorrow morning, dropped some goods off at the homeless shelter (not nearly as much as Sam had feared), and then went home. Sam had plans for what he was going to do to reward his Omega for his success, but Gabriel fell asleep at the table halfway through dinner. Chuckling quietly, Sam picked him up, took him to their nest, undressed him, and tucked him in. He leaned down to kiss Gabriel’s forehead before turning off the light and making his way back to the dinner table to finish eating. There was always Tuesday--the one day of the week Sprinkles! wasn’t open.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks! Did you miss me? Erm. Sorry about December, but hopefully since those who like Sabriel also liked my 25 days of Sabriel drabbles, no one who's following this story is *too* mad at me. Hopefully. The people following my other WIPs totally deserve pitchforks and torches, though. Sorry; I will get around to them too. 
> 
> Ahem. Anyway. In this chapter, they finally get the results of the DNA test, and Sam and Gabriel confront Becky. And then there might be just a teeny tiny bit of angst at the end don't kill me please I promise they will make up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fills the 'Possessive Omega' square for ABO Bingo.

As Sam had predicted, their shifts got shorter after the Grand Opening was over, although they still hired Kelly. While they weren’t making money hand over fist and they were still very much in the red following the renovation and start-up costs and advertising, they were still making money, even mid-way through their third week. Moreover, Gabriel was starting to get special orders, the kind that were the bread and butter of any small bakery. 

Which all meant that Sam and Gabriel were in very good moods when the even better news finally came. “Hey, Gabe, can you take over the front for me? Got a call,” Sam said, wiggling his cell phone as he stepped into the back. 

“Sure,” Gabriel replied, setting his cookie cutter aside and heading for the front of the bakery. 

“Sorry about that, I’m working,” he heard Sam tell the person on the other end as he passed him. He wondered what the call was about, but didn’t think too much about it as he walked out of the swinging door. 

There weren’t any customers waiting--Gabriel had surmised that much, as Sam wouldn’t walk out on a customer--but there were a few people at the tables in the front, sipping on coffee or juice and slowly making their way through various pastries. One regular named Charlie looked up and smiled at him; he waved at her. She was an Omega going to college for computer science, and had told Gabriel she much preferred to study in his bakery instead of the library because she wouldn’t be accosted by Alphas here--and if she was, she knew Sam or Jack would put an immediate stop to it. Gabriel was overjoyed to have helped her find a safe space. Plus, with her coffee addiction, she practically kept them in the black single-handedly--speaking of which, he poured her a new cup and took it out to her table. 

“Thanks, Gabe,” she told him, beaming over the top of her math book. She was taking classes in the summer, partly to avoid having too many Alphas in her classes and partly to finish her degree faster. “You’re the best.” 

“You’re very welcome,” he winked at her as he collected her empty cup to throw away. “Oops, gotta get back to work,” he added, as a harried-looking Omega holding the hand of one pup and carrying another on her hip came in and looked around. 

“Welcome to Sprinkles!” Gabriel told the woman. “Free cookies for the pups with every purchase. You look like you could use some bread for the family, but I’ve also got some delicious cherry chocolate cupcakes in case you need to steal a moment for yourself later.” 

The woman smiled at him. “Actually,” she said, “I need a dozen cupcakes. My oldest’s school is having a bake sale tomorrow, and I don’t have time to bake anything myself. My friend suggested I try your place.” 

“We can do that!” Gabriel replied, heading back behind the counter and getting down a pastry box. “Do you want an assortment, or all of one kind?”

“An assortment would be great, thank you,” the woman told him. 

“Can do! Do the pups want sugar cookies, or...let’s see, I have super-healthy organic carrot cookies, if you’d prefer?” Gabriel asked as he filled the box with cupcakes. 

“I suppose a little sugar won’t hurt them,” the woman said as she got out her purse. “And...wow, your bread looks amazing. Can I have a loaf of olive bread too?”

“Of course!” Gabriel set the box aside and snagged a couple of sugar cookies with paper napkins. He handed one solemnly over the counter to the toddler. “Wow, how old are you?” he asked. 

The toddler, suddenly shy, grabbed the cookie and held up three fingers before hiding behind her mother. “Wow, three! That’s really old,” Gabriel enthused, handing the other cookie to the smaller pup, who needed both hands to hold it but immediately bit into it, sending crumbs flying everywhere. 

Gabriel had to get on a stepstool to pull a loaf of olive bread down (stupid taller mate). “Would you like it sliced?” he asked. 

“Yes, please,” the woman said, and he dropped the loaf in the slicer before packing it into a plastic bag, which he then set on top of the pastry box and put both of these into a larger bag before handing it over. He took the money the Omega offered and gave her her change back. “Thank you,” she said. 

“You’re very welcome! Please come again, and please tell your friend thank you for recommending us,” Gabriel told her. 

“I will,” she promised as she headed out the door. 

Gabriel turned around to yell, “Another one for sugar cookies!” into the back, but found Sam standing behind him, grinning from ear to ear. So, he moderated his volume, but said the same thing, using a piece of chalk to put another tally mark under ‘Sugar,’ which had many more tally marks than the heading ‘Blech.’ In Sam’s defense, ‘Blech’ did have a couple of tally marks underneath of it. 

“Guess what?” Sam asked, ignoring his statement and the tally marks. 

Gabriel shook his head; he had no idea what Sam was referring to. “Um. Castiel’s pregnant again?”

“No. Becky and I are _not_ true mates,” Sam said, waving his phone. “They have a copy of the DNA results at the police station; they said I could come down and get it and take it to the outpatient clinic.” 

Gabriel’s eyes widened. The scent visits with Becky had become routine by now; he hardly thought about them any longer (not that he particularly liked it when he was reminded of them, mind you). He couldn’t help but laugh. “Finally! It’s about time!”

“Yeah!” Sam gathered him up in a fierce hug. “So, if you can cover the front for a little while, I’ll go get a copy of the report, and then tomorrow...I guess we tell Becky to leave us alone.” He faltered slightly on the last words, and Gabriel understood--Sam would be glad to never have to see Becky again, but proof that she wasn’t Sam’s true mate was going to tear the other Omega apart. 

“She made her bed, Sam,” Gabriel said gently. 

His mate gave him a puppy-dog look. “I know,” he replied, a muscle twitching in his cheek. “I just wish she’d listened to me in the first place so we didn’t have to do this.” 

“Me too, Sam. But...you go get that report, and I’ll hold down the fort here. And I’ll go with you tomorrow; we can break the news to her together.” Tomorrow happened to be a Tuesday, so they both had plenty of time. 

Sam nodded, and gave him a second tight hug. “All right. Hopefully it won’t take me too long.” 

“If it does and we get swamped, Charlie can start working for her coffee,” Gabriel joked. He released Sam, then made a shooing motion. “Go, go. But you might want to take the apron off first.”

Sam scoffed at him, but pulled the apron off over his head before disappearing into the back. 

.oOOo.

It may have been petty, but Gabriel’s inner Omega was purring as they walked into the outpatient facility, hand in hand. Becky would _finally_ have to face the truth--Sam was _Gabriel’s_, not hers. Sam had called ahead to make the facility aware of the results, and they had told him they would have a doctor prepared to look over the report and answer any questions Becky might have. 

The clinic had also asked them to come a few minutes early so the doctor could look over the DNA report, and they did so. The doctor’s eyebrows climbed into her hairline as she read over the police file. “My sincere apologies, Mr. Winchester. I honestly believed she had pining sickness, or I would _never_ have recommended these visits.” 

“You were just doing what you thought was best for your patient,” Sam replied with a shrug. “And you were operating well within the law. I can’t fault you for that.”

“Still. Thank you,” the doctor replied. 

“You’re welcome,” Sam said, before Becky breezed in. As usual, she completely ignored Gabriel’s presence, though she did blink a few times when she spotted the doctor. 

“Hello, Sam!” she said brightly. “Guess what? Those little pup hats I told you I was knitting last time? They’re looking so cute!”

“Miss Rosen. Please have a seat,” the doctor said, gesturing to a chair. “There’s something we need to discuss.” 

“Oh?” Becky asked innocently, taking a seat where indicated--much too close to Sam for Gabriel’s liking, but he supposed she had to sit opposite the doctor. 

The doctor sighed. “Miss Rosen, Mr. Winchester has presented me with DNA evidence--from the state crime laboratory, no less--that you and he are not true mates. In light of this new information, I cannot continue to recommend regular scent visits between the two of you.” 

“What?!” Becky’s eyes went wide, and Gabriel felt an ungenerous bit of schadenfreude. Okay, a great deal of schadenfreude. “No, that’s--that’s not possible--I never gave anyone my DNA!”

“A sample of your DNA was taken when you were found unconscious,” the doctor replied evenly, “And Mr. Winchester donated his DNA to the police upon request. If you doubt the chain of custody, I will make a copy of this report for you and you may discuss it with the police.” 

“No!” Becky protested, looking over at Sam. “No! You have to make him--I’ll get pining sickness again, you said I had pining sickness!”

“It appeared that you did, Miss Rosen. In hindsight, it was likely what we call a psychosomatic illness. I will be referring you to a therapist who can help you work through the issues that led you to believe you were pining for Mr. Winchester--”

“NO!” This time Becky yelled it, and for the first time, Gabriel felt a tiny bit of fear. Becky’s fangs had descended, and the nails on her hands were starting to look like claws. He was still pretty sure he could take her if it came to a fight, but that didn’t mean he was spoiling for one. “Sam is _mine,_” she growled. “There was a mistake; you have to do the test over again!”

The doctor pushed a button on her phone, and then calmly explained, “To do that, you would need a court order to collect Mr. Winchester’s DNA. At this point, I have to say that, if asked, I would tell a judge that there was no need for a second sample; the test the crime lab used had a very low margin of error.” 

“You don’t understand; Sam is the only Alpha I’ve ever--” 

“Becky. Stop.” Sam stood, towering over her, and used his Alpha voice. “Sit down.” She sat; Gabriel winced mentally, knowing just how effective that tone could be. Sam took a deep breath. “As I have told you since the day you showed up next to me during my run, we are not true mates. In fact, according to the test, we’re barely compatible.” He said that bit with contempt, and Gabriel winced for real at the look on Becky’s face. 

“I never want to see you again. If you send one more thing to our apartment, or approach me or my mate after today, I _will_ get a restraining order, and I _will_ make the police enforce it. I have bent over backwards to obey the law just in case you were right and I was wrong. I don’t have to do that any longer. We are not mates. We are not family. We are not anything, Omega, and you will _leave us alone_ or I will have you arrested.” 

Tears were trickling down Becky’s cheeks at this point, and she’d lost all of her feral look. Now she was looking like a kicked puppy, and Gabriel knew that had to be hurting Sam, but Sam simply said, “Goodbye, Becky,” and turned and walked out the door, nearly colliding with a burly security guard of Asian descent.

Gabriel just sat there for a moment, stunned, before realizing that he probably should have left with Sam. When he did, he jumped up and started to make his way to the door--but Becky grabbed hold of his arm. She was sobbing now. “Please,” she begged, finally looking at Gabriel. “Please, talk to him. We can share him; I’ll take care of all the pups, I swear, I’ll do anything for either of you, just please, please, don’t leave.”

Gabriel’s reaction surprised him, although in hindsight, it shouldn’t have. He’d always had a jealous streak a mile wide. He snatched his hand away from her and growled as he felt his fangs descend. “You leave him alone,” he snapped at her, feeling the security guard’s arms encircle his waist but not caring. “He’s _mine_, and I _don’t share._ If you come near us again, I’ll kill you,” he added, before he was bodily removed from the room by the security guard. 

“Gabriel!” Sam looked surprised that his mate was the one that was being escorted out. “What did she say?” He directed a murderous look back toward the room where Becky was, one that stopped the security guard in his tracks and made him release Gabriel completely, likely in case Sam decided to pick a fight.

“Sir. You both need to leave now,” the guard said--politely, but firmly. His hand went to his taser, and Gabriel couldn’t blame him--buff or not, he was more than a head shorter than Sam. 

“We’re leaving,” Gabriel told the guard, grabbing Sam by his arm. “Come on, Alpha, let’s go home.”

“But what did she say?” Sam wanted to know, allowing himself to be drug away, albeit reluctantly.

Gabriel shook his head as he pulled Sam out of the facility. “It’s not important. Really, Sam.”

“But you were all--”

“I lost my temper, but I’m fine now, Sam,” Gabriel said, showing his Alpha his teeth. “See? All nice and normal sized. And now we never have to see her again.”

“Unless she fights us in court,” Sam pointed out, eyeing Gabriel’s teeth and hands before stepping out into the parking lot.

Gabriel shook his head as they walked to the car. “You heard the doctor. She can try, but she’s not going to get very far. The doc didn’t seem very happy that she’d been lied to.” 

“I suppose not,” Sam said. He clicked the button on his keys to unlock the car, opened the driver’s door, and then glanced backward one more time before focusing on Gabriel again. “And you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. Our friend the security guard got me out before I could embarrass you,” Gabriel told him--contritely, even. 

“Nothing you could do would ever embarrass me,” Sam said automatically.

“Does that mean I can sit on your lap so you can hand feed me next time we’re in a restaurant?” Gabriel asked as he climbed into the passenger side. 

Sam sighed. “Almost nothing,” he corrected, buckling his seat belt and giving Gabriel another careful visual once-over before reaching over to take his hand and lace their fingers together. “You promise you’re okay?”

“Promise,” Gabriel responded, even if it was a bit of a stretch; Becky had represented a great deal of stress on top of the great deal of stress that is opening a business. “Though I’m not sure I’ll be able to stop myself from biting you on top of every single one of your scent glands later today.” He turned Sam’s arm over, and sniffed happily at his wrist. 

Sam snorted. “If that’s what it takes to convince everyone that I’m taken, that’s fine with me,” he said. “Though you _did just _ do my neck the other day.” Sam took his hand back in order to start the car, reverse it, and pull out in traffic, but then handed it back over--honestly, Gabriel felt safer in Sam’s car when he was driving with a single hand than he would in most other cars. 

“I’m pretty sure I could have bitten you all over and that _bitch_ still would’ve ignored it,” Gabriel said, growling as he continued to scent Sam’s wrist. 

“You’re probably right,” Sam said with a sigh. “I just really, really hope that now she can get the help she nee--OW!” Sam jerked his arm back toward him, at which point Gabriel both smelled and tasted blood. “Gabriel! What the fuck?”

Wait. Tasted? He felt his eyes go wide as he realized that he’d bit Sam on the wrist--no mating involved; his fangs were out because he wasn’t as fine as he’d told Sam he was. Not only was a bite outside of mating simply Not Done--especially by an Omega--but the look of genuine hurt and confusion on Sam’s face chastized Gabriel more effectively than anything else could have. “Shit. Sam! Oh my god, I’m sorry! Are you all right?”

Sam’s lip quivered, as if it were going to curl up into a snarl, and Gabriel nearly knocked his own brains out on the center console, bending forward to bare his throat to Sam--an instinctual response that was hardwired into their biology. He realized he was making a high-pitched whining noise that signaled submission in a fight, but he couldn’t stop himself. 

He felt, rather than saw, Sam pull the car over and put it in park, and he trembled. He knew better than to be afraid of Sam, he really did, but his inner Omega was not listening to logic at the moment--he’d hurt his Alpha, unnecessarily, and Sam’s inner Alpha would be clamoring for revenge. 

Sam shut off the car and practically leaped out, making Gabriel finally look up. Sam’s eyes weren’t red, but he was clearly still angry. “Calm down and then drive the car home,” he ordered, likely using his Alpha voice without even realizing it. “I’ll walk. Or run. Need to--to get rid of energy.” His words were slightly mangled, and Gabriel realized his fangs must have dropped in self-defense. Before Gabriel could say a word, Sam stalked off. 

Gabriel watched him walk away, realizing that he’d done exactly what Becky had done--hurt Sam. Apparently, today was his day to be the stereotypical Omega, because his body’s response to what had just happened was to burst into tears and sob uncontrollably.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Gabriel make up and have obligatory make-up sex.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about last chapter. My beta reader assures me that this chapter makes up for it, so, here's hoping :).

It took a while, but eventually Gabriel calmed down enough that he trusted himself to operate the vehicle. Sam hadn’t reappeared, and Gabriel could only assume that he’d find his own way home. He appreciated the fact that Sam had made sure he’d be safe by leaving him the car, but it didn’t make him feel much better as he climbed over into the driver’s seat. He had to adjust the hell out of everything before he could even reach the pedals, and it all made him feel like throwing up. 

He still couldn’t believe he’d just hauled off and bit Sam outside of a mating. Yes, he was possessive, but...his behavior had been egregious. He was fairly certain from the little he’d seen that the bite had been deep, too--not at all the tiny little sting it was meant to be. What was wrong with him? 

Of course, he knew. Opening Sprinkles! had been immensely stressful, and then on top of all of that there had been Becky. And he knew--knew! Becky would make Sam a better Omega than he did. She’d stay home; hell, if she were in his shoes, she’d already be pregnant. Not him; he wanted to put having pups off because of his career. How was that fair to Sam? Why had he ever dared think that he could give Sam what he wanted--no, what he _needed?_

It took him another ten minutes or so before he felt well enough to start the car and drive the short distance home. He parked in the parking structure, locked the car, and then walked the short distance to their apartment. There was no fresh scent of Sam at the door of their apartment, so he assumed that he hadn’t come home yet. 

Gabriel went in and locked the door behind him, sighing. He felt awful; he still wasn’t quite sure he wasn’t going to throw up. After leaning against the door for a moment, he went into their room, shed everything but his boxers, crawled into their nest, and buried himself under mounds and mounds of blankets. 

.oOOo.

Sam was relieved when he got back to the apartment and smelled Gabriel. He wasn’t angry any more--at least, not at Gabriel. He was still pretty mad at himself, because his first instinct after being bitten had been to backhand the biter. While that likely stemmed from a childhood spent with an older brother, it was completely and utterly inappropriate, and Sam hated himself for it. He hated himself even more for the way he’d terrified Gabriel; he couldn’t get the sound of the poor Omega’s whine to stop ringing in his ears. 

So, all in all, Sam felt pretty shitty when he pulled open the apartment door. He could smell Gabriel, but the cinnamon rolls weren’t just overdone this time--they were in flames, and he winced at the smell and rubbed at his sensitive nose. 

He closed and locked the door behind him, then poured himself some cold water to drink--he’d been walking for a while. Sam downed that, and then, when he could think of no other ready excuse, he made his way to the bedroom. 

He stood in the door for a few minutes, looking at the huge pile of bedding on top of their bed. He knew Gabriel was under it, but aside from the very faint noise of someone breathing, there were no clues to that effect. 

“Hey, Gabriel.” Sam was certain he’d have to carry the conversation by himself for a while; if Gabriel wasn’t even crying, he was fairly well shut down. Sam walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, but didn’t try to locate his mate in their nest. “Look, I’m really sorry for how I acted. You didn’t even really bite me that hard, and you’d literally just asked me if you could and I’d said yes.” 

Sam paused, but there was no response, although the breathing noises started coming a little faster. He held back a sigh. “Gabriel...would you like to make an appointment to see Garth? Or...should I call Raphael? Or Chuck?”

“We don’t have the money for me to see Garth,” came the petulant response, which actually relaxed Sam slightly--argument was better than the silent treatment. 

“Gabriel, if you need--or, hell, if you even _want_ to see someone...we will find the money somehow,” Sam replied patiently. “Your well-being is worth more to me than all the money in the world.”

The pile of blankets heaved a sigh. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” 

“What do you mean?” Sam asked gently. 

“We were going to go tell Becky to stick it up her ass and then I was planning to spend the rest of the day hanging off of your knot...and then I ruined everything for you.” 

Sam was somewhat glad that Gabriel couldn’t see his slight frown. “For me? What do you mean?”

“I bit you! I started a fight! I’m the worst Omega _ever_,” and at this point, the pile of bedding started to cry. “I hurt you! And I’ve used up all the money you should have used for law school on a pipe dream that will never work out, and--and I won’t have your pups yet, but Becky would, and--and--” he broke down entirely. 

“Oh, Gabriel,” Sam said softly. He finally rummaged around in the blankets until he found his mate, and slowly pulled him out until he was sitting in his lap, face buried against his neck as Sam ran his hands up and down Gabriel’s back. “I said I wasn’t mad at you, and I meant it. I was angry for a minute or two, but then I forgave you. Right now, I’m just mad at myself.” 

“But I hurt you,” Gabriel whined. 

“Not badly. And it wouldn’t have been nearly as bad if I hadn’t jerked it away from you like an idiot. Besides, I know you didn’t mean to. Not really.” He paused. “Want to lick it better?”

Gabriel pulled away to look up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. “Really?”

Sam knew it was a gamble; he hadn’t cleaned the wound, so it looked much worse than it was. “Really.” He pressed a soft kiss to Gabriel’s nose, then held his wrist up. 

“Oh, Sam,” Gabriel moaned when he caught sight of it. “I’m so sorry.” But he gently took Sam’s hand in both of his and began licking the ragged wound. 

“I forgive you. Besides, I can take it. I’m a big, strong, Alpha, remember?” Sam lay back on the bed, so that Gabriel was lying on top of him on his back. “Do you have anything you absolutely have to do at the bakery tomorrow?” By now, Jack and Kelly had most of Gabriel’s recipes down; the only real gap in their knowledge was cake decorating, which Jack turned out to be mediocre at (though he was better than Sam!) and Kelly was still working on. 

Gabriel paused as he considered the question, then shook his head no. “Okay,” Sam said decisively, “I think you should take tomorrow off. I’m sorry, Gabriel, I knew how stressful opening Sprinkles! was for you, but I don’t think I realized how bad the scent visits were on top of that.” 

Gabriel paused. “They weren’t that bad,” he argued, though with considerably less heat then he’d used when Sam had first walked into the room.

“Yes they were,” Sam corrected, gently running his free hand up and down Gabriel’s arm. “I can’t imagine how hard it would be on me if I knew you had to go see an Alpha every couple of days--even one that I knew you didn’t like. It would have had me constantly on edge--at best.” He sighed. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that; I’m just glad it’s over now. Tell me, what will make you feel better, Gabe? A night out? Time with your brother or your dad? Garth? Date night? Netflix binge? Crappy massage by yours truly?” He asked about each slowly, so that his mate had time to consider the possibilities. 

Gabriel kept licking at his wrist for a few moments, seemingly thinking. “I want to start trying for a pup,” he said finally. 

Sam grimaced, thankful that Gabriel wasn’t watching his face. He’d been afraid Gabriel might say something like that. “Because you think that having one will make you the perfect Omega for me, or because you really, truly think that now is the best time to have one?” he asked gently. 

Gabriel immediately stopped licking him, and then huffed out a sigh and rolled over so he could look down at Sam. “The first,” he admitted. 

“Thought so,” Sam said, reaching up to cup Gabriel’s face. “Babe, we _just had_ a pup named Sprinkles! And I think we should spend some time concentrating on it for a while before we have others.” 

Gabriel immediately shook his head. “Sprinkles! isn’t really yours, though,” he replied. 

“And what have I done that makes you think I don’t love Sprinkles! every bit as much as you do?” Sam asked, shaking his head. “God knows I’m not a baker, but Gabriel--Sprinkles! makes you so happy. And that makes me happy. I _want_ it to do well. And it is! I’m so proud of what you’ve done!” He gave his mate a gentle hug. “But I think we need to focus on it for a while longer before we think about actual pups.” He rolled them over so that they were both fully on the bed, lying side-by-side. 

Gabriel nodded. “You’re right. I _do_ want to have your pups, though. And I will.” 

“Yes,” Sam agreed, pulling him closer. “We will. In a year or two, when we’re ready to be parents. But you still haven’t answered my question. Right now--today and tomorrow--what do you want to make you feel better? Anything. You name it, and I’ll get it for you.”

Gabriel searched Sam’s face. “Will you make love to me? Even though I ruined everything?”

Sam smiled. “Gladly,” he told his mate, leaning forward to kiss him gently. It wasn’t a bad idea; one of the many things they hadn’t had much time for with everything lately was each other. Sam pushed Gabriel onto his back, and then climbed on his hands and knees to hover over the Omega, shoving bedding out of the way as he went. He kissed the corner of Gabriel’s mouth, and then slowly kissed his way along his cheekbone to his ear, and from there down to his shoulder, where he paid particular attention to his mate’s scent gland. 

“Feel that?” he whispered, licking across his old mating bite. He felt Gabriel shiver underneath him, and smiled. “We’re bonded. A mated pair. True mates. A little fight can’t break us up. You’re mine and I’m yours, no matter _what_ we do to each other.” He punctuated nearly every word with a kiss. “I love you, Gabriel. I love you so much.” 

Gabriel’s hands came up to tangle in his hair, and Sam began kissing and sucking his way lower. “I’m sorry, Sam,” he whispered again, and Sam smiled against his skin. 

“I not only forgive you, I want you to do the other one for me. Will you?” he asked before gently biting down on one of Gabriel’s collarbones. 

“Are you sure?” Gabriel gasped, and squirmed underneath of him. 

“Very,” Sam growled, sliding a hand down to palm Gabriel through his boxers. The Omega was already half-hard, and Sam felt him fill out as he stroked him through the fabric. He caught the smell of fresh slick, too, and smiled to himself as he started to lick and suck at one of Gabriel’s nipples. 

“Oh--okay!” Gabriel gasped, arching up underneath him. Sam kept kissing him, lower and lower until he ran into Gabriel’s boxers. Making a face at the fabric, he sat up on his knees and drew the boxers down his mate’s legs, tossing them to the side. While he was at it, he shed his various shirts, though he didn’t bother with his jeans yet. 

Instead, he made Gabriel moan by dipping back down and licking a stripe up the underside of his cock, pressing just a little harder at that one spot just below the head. He smiled as Gabriel closed his eyes in pleasure, and then sucked the head of his cock into his mouth, swirling his tongue around it. He started bobbing his head, getting lost in the feel and taste of his mate on his tongue. 

Gabriel spread his legs, and Sam gently slid a couple of fingers into him, thrusting them in and out in time with his movements. “Fuck, Sam, yes, yes, please!” He tried to increase the pace by lifting up his hips, but Sam held him in place with his other hand. 

Sam pulled off long enough to remind his mate, “It’s not a race, Gabriel.” He received a loud whine in return, and smirked before he went back to sucking. Gabriel was multiorgasmic, so Sam fingered him until he came in his mouth, swallowing down his release before slowly kissing his way back up his mate’s body. 

Gabriel was groaning softly and imitating melted ice cream when Sam made it back to his face to kiss him deeply. “Mmm. Still want my knot, Omega?” he teased, pulling back slightly. 

“Hells yeah,” slurred Gabriel. 

“Give me a second.” Sam still had his jeans on, and he had to climb off of the bed briefly to rectify the problem. Gabriel watched him, a slightly silly smile on his face, as he undressed fully.

“C’mere,” he demanded once Sam was unclothed, reaching up and making grabby hands at his Alpha. Sam chuckled softly, then climbed back onto the bed where his mate pulled him on top of him. 

Sam used every shred of his self-control to take things slowly once he pushed himself into Gabriel’s body. He’d promised Gabriel he’d make love to him, and he was going to keep that promise, moving slowly as they rocked together. “Please, Sam, faster,” Gabriel kept begging, but Sam just shook his head and kissed his mate as he brought them both, slowly but surely, closer to their climaxes. 

“Oh god. Almost-- Almost--” Gabriel called, and Sam put his uninjured left wrist against Gabriel’s mouth; he’d meant it when he said he didn’t mind it when Gabriel bit him during sex. Because--and that was as much as he could think, because he felt Gabriel spasm around him at the same time he bit down on his wrist, and the pain turned immediately to pleasure, which led to Sam popping his knot and blowing his brains out through his dick, at least temporarily. 

As soon as Sam could think again, he rolled to his side so he wasn’t crushing Gabriel, and pulled his mate close. Gabriel was licking over his new bite, making sure it would heal properly. Sam reached out to push his sweaty hair off of his face. “How do you feel?” he asked. 

“Much better,” Gabriel replied. “You really don’t mind when I bite you when we’re having sex, do you?” 

Sam rolled his hips, emphasizing the fact that they were still tied together. “Does it feel like it?” He kissed Gabriel on the tip of his nose. “So. Besides hanging off of my knot, what’s something fun you’d like to do?”

“We haven’t gone out in ages,” Gabriel said after thinking for a minute. “Let’s go have a few drinks somewhere tonight? Celebrate never having to see Becky again?”

“That’s a great idea,” Sam agreed. “Do you want to call some of your friends and see if they can come?”

Gabriel nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah; I bet Charlie would be up for it as long as you’re there to make sure she gets home safe.” 

“It’s a date, then.” Sam smiled at Gabriel before giving him a long, slow kiss. “You can call everyone later while I’m entering data.” Sam, not surprisingly, liked to keep track of how Sprinkles! was doing through numerous colorful spreadsheets, and that involved a decent amount of data entry. 

Gabriel smiled at him almost shyly. “So...we’re okay, then?”

Sam hugged him tightly. “Babe, even when we’re not okay...it’s just a matter of time before we’re okay again. So, yes, we’re okay. And we’ll always be okay, no matter what happens.” 

“I love you, Sam.”

“I love you too, Gabriel.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel and Jack are stuck on the late shift together.

Gabriel’s mood improved dramatically after his night out and his day off. He still couldn’t believe he’d been lucky enough to find an Alpha as thoughtful and kind as Sam--he had no idea how Sam knew what he needed before he did, but he was thankful for him. 

Several weeks later, he and Jack were getting ready to close Sprinkles! for the day. Since there were no customers so late in the evening, Jack was out front mopping, and Gabriel was in the back making macadamia cherry cookie dough. Sam had worked the morning shift, and was at home, probably reading law books or something equally boring. They were going to need to hire someone else once law school started back up, but right now, Gabriel liked the feeling of working with his mate and the Klines. They’d turned into quite the close-knit pack, along with Charlie and Kevin and a few other regular customers--and Dean and Cas and Mary, of course, who dropped by whenever they could. 

Gabriel heard the bell on the door chime, and frowned. It was a few minutes past time to close--Jack must have forgotten to lock the door and turn the sign over. Customers who came in right at closing were notoriously difficult, so Gabriel quickly washed his hands and headed for the swinging door. 

“...but if you want something real quick, I’ll ring you up just this once,” he heard Jack offering politely as he stepped into the front area to see what was going on. Jack was holding his mop in one hand and gesturing to the register in the other. He had his best ‘helping a customer’ face on even though it was late. All of that was perfectly normal. 

What set off immediate alarm bells in Gabriel’s head was the person Jack was talking to. The dark-haired man was almost as tall as Sam, and seemed to be built of nothing but muscle. There was no question he was an Alpha, and he was heavily tattooed and wearing classic biker gear--a leather coat over a denim vest and jeans. Although he didn’t look at all like Alistair, that was who he reminded Gabriel of, and the recognition hit him like a punch to the gut. The smell--stale cigarettes and beer, plus pickled...something...didn’t help.

“I ain’t here to buy nothin,’” the man told Jack, smirking as he spotted Gabriel coming out of the back. “I need to have a chat with your boss, and you need to get lost. Scram, pup.”

Jack’s mouth fell open in shock. “I’m not a pup,” he informed the man, drawing himself up to his full height. “I’m twenty years old. And I’m not going to leave you alone with Mr. Gabriel.” While Gabriel very much appreciated the sentiment, he wished Jack had found a way to phrase it such that hadn’t told the large man that they were alone in the shop. 

“Look, kid. I ain’t gonna kill him, and I really don’t wanna hurt you. But I will, if you won’t get the fuck out of my way right now,” biker-dude declared, looking back toward Jack and flexing one huge fist. 

“Jack, get back.” Gabriel was shaking, headed straight for a panic attack, but he still had to try to defuse the situation. “Look, if you want money, take it,” he told Biker-dude, hitting the button to open the cash register and then taking a step back and lifting up his hands. “We won’t try to stop you.” 

Biker-dude let out an awful-sounding, flegmy laugh and shook his head, shooting Gabriel an almost pitying look. “I ain’t here for petty cash. You’re going to take some pills, and then me and my partner are gonna take you somewhere and take care of you for a while. Show you what _real_ Alphas can do. He’s out back, by the way--try and run, and he’ll catch you before you even make it out the door.”

Gabriel’s brain started to chant, ‘No no no no no,” at him, while it became harder and harder for him to think. He had no idea what pills the man was referring to, but he certainly didn’t need the veiled rape threat explained to him. The telephone was next to the cash register; his cell phone was in his back pocket. Biker-dude would see him reaching for either one of them if he tried to call 911. 

“No! I won’t let you hurt Mr. Gabriel!” Despite Gabriel’s advice, Jack puffed his chest up and picked up the mop. He swung it as hard as he could at the intruder’s chest. Unfortunately, Jack hadn’t come into his Alpha strength yet since he hadn’t presented. The mop connected, but Biker-dude didn’t even rock back an entire step when it did.

Instead, he grabbed the mop, twisted it out of Jack’s hands, and tossed it aside. Gabriel yelled Jack’s name again, but there was nothing he could do. Biker-dude formed an enormous fist with one hand and swung it at the kid. There was a meaty thud and a crack, and Jack collapsed to the floor. 

The only good thing about the situation was that Biker-dude was temporarily distracted. Gabriel had spotted something else by the cash register--the dart gun he was required to keep on hand in case Jack went feral. He leaped forward and grabbed it. His training kicked in, and thankfully he was able to aim, take a breath, and pull the trigger without consciously thinking about it. 

His first shot went wide. His second bounced off of Biker-dude’s leather jacket. His third and fourth, however, struck the man solidly in the neck. “Fuck!” Biker-dude exclaimed, hand slapping at the darts and just pushing them further in. “You’ll pay for that, you little piece of--” He started to take a step toward the counter, but fell over--the tranquilizers in the darts acted very quickly. 

Gabriel lowered the empty gun and began shaking, adrenaline getting the better of him. It was only after a moment or two that he remembered Jack. “Shit! Jack!” He started around the counter, but then realized that the tranquilizers would wear off eventually...and the guy had said that he had a friend out back. Gabriel darted back to the phone instead. 

“911, what’s your emergency?”

“An Alpha came into my store at,” Gabriel gave the operator Sprinkles’! Address, “and threatened my employee and me. He said he had a friend out back. He hit Jack...oh god, Jack, I don’t know if he’s okay… I have to check…” without thinking, he set the phone down, a move he’d later regret. He then hurried out from behind the counter. 

He was shocked to see Jack climbing, somewhat unsteadily, to his feet. The punch Biker-dude had thrown had connected solidly; how was the kid even conscious? Jack threw back his head and howled, and Gabriel’s brain began to construct an answer. The fight had thrown Jack into rut. Worse, Gabriel realized, as Jack lifted his hands high enough for the Omega to get a good look at them. They were clawed; Jack had gone feral. 

Which explained why he brought his claws sweeping down to rake at the downed Alpha. They didn’t do much, what with the leather and denim in the way, but he followed it up with a few vicious kicks, and Gabriel heard the tell-tale sound of bones snapping. Biker-dude was not going to be happy when he woke up, though hopefully the police would be here by then. 

Feral Jack took out his ire on Biker-dude for a few minutes, and then howled again in triumph. Gabriel went still, and cold. With his rival felled, Jack would be looking to mate. And the only Omega present was Gabriel. Gabriel knew Jack would never hurt him if he were in his right mind, but feral was a far cry from Jack’s right mind. 

Sure enough, Jack sniffed the air and turned to Gabriel, eyes glowing red, fangs bared, and claws out. His jaw was already swollen badly on the side where he’d been punched, not that it made him any less terrifying. Gabriel knew better than to try to run; it would trigger Jack’s instincts and he would be on him in a second. He couldn’t get back to the phone, and the dart gun was empty, even if he could make it back to it. He did have the presence of mind to yell, “Feral Alpha!” in the hopes that the 911 operator was still listening--but that just made Jack focus on him more completely. 

Gabriel swallowed hard. “Jack,” he said, in the calmest voice he could muster, “This isn’t you. You don’t want to do this, okay?” Jack took first one, and then two, steps toward him, rocking on the balls of his feet, poised to pounce if Gabriel tried to run. Meanwhile, Gabriel tried to think of something to say to snap Jack out of it. “Real Alphas don’t hurt Omegas, remember, Jack? You don’t want to be like that guy.”

Jack wasn’t improving, and he came another step closer, scenting the air and fixing Gabriel with his burning eyes. “Jack.” Gabriel heard his voice shake. “Jack, we’re friends. Come on. Snap out of it, please.” He took an involuntary step backwards, which was a mistake--he’d thought Jack had been fixated on him before, but now Jack was drooling. “Your mother wouldn’t like this!” Panic was making Gabriel’s voice soar into octaves he didn’t know he could reach. 

Wait. Kelly. Gabriel slowly reached behind him, pulled out his phone, and hit one of the numbers on speed dial, without taking his eyes off of Jack’s. He punched the speakerphone button. “Hello?” Kelly’s voice sounded so normal; it was surreal. 

Gabriel hit the video chat button, and thrust the phone out toward Jack, with the screen pointed at him. “Kelly! Jack’s gone feral!” 

He heard her use a word he didn’t even know she knew, and then she took a deep breath and employed her Mom voice, which he had never heard her use before. “JACK ANDREW KLINE.” Jack went completely still at the sound of it. “SIT DOWN RIGHT THIS SECOND.” To Gabriel’s surprise and relief, Jack practically collapsed to the ground in his haste to do as his mother ordered. He ended up cross-legged, staring up at the phone and looking confused. 

Confused was a good sign; it could mean he was coming out of his feral state. Gabriel angled the phone downwards and let Kelly keep talking. “That’s good, Jack. Good. Now, how about I sing you that song that you liked so much when you were a pup?” She launched into a rendition of the Rainbow Connection, and Gabriel had never been so happy to hear slightly-off-key singing before. He watched as Jack’s clawed hands slowly started to look more and more human. 

“Don’t feel good,” Jack whined when Kelly finished, and Gabriel only just barely stopped himself from sagging to the floor in relief. If Jack could talk, he wasn’t feral anymore. He was still in rut, and that was dangerous, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as if he’d remained feral. 

“I know, Jack,” Kelly soothed. “I want you to go into the restroom. Lock yourself in, and take care of yourself; you know how. I’m already on my way. I’ll be there as soon as I can and we’ll get you home and make you feel better. Okay, Jack?” 

“Okay, Mom.” Jack staggered back to his feet, still looking confused. His eyes were glowing red, but there seemed to be more intelligence behind them now. He sniffed at the air for a moment, but then carefully walked around Gabriel--who was still holding the phone out like a shield--and disappeared into the restroom. 

Gabriel heard the lock click behind him, and he felt his own legs give way. He managed to clutch the phone close when he fell, so it didn’t break, but the way he grabbed at it ended the call. Kelly’s voice and face disappeared. He had just enough of his wits left to make sure that when he curled up in a ball and began sobbing, he could still see the tranquilized Alpha on the floor; the man wouldn’t be able to move without Gabriel noticing. 

Gabriel knew he should get up, do something, telephone someone, but he couldn’t bring himself to; he just laid on the floor of Sprinkles! and sobbed. After what felt like forever but was probably only a few minutes, he began to hear sirens. They got closer and closer, and then, soon after that, two Alpha police officers came through the door, one holding a tranquilizer gun and one an actual gun at the ready. The man with the real gun nudged the fallen Alpha with his foot, and shook his head. 

The other focused on Gabriel. “Is this the feral Alpha?” she barked. Gabriel shook his head and pointed at the restrooms. 

He felt awful; he didn’t want them to hurt Jack, so he forced himself to choke out, “Not--not feral! Help--helped me!” 

The police officer with the tranquilizer gun came over to him, and got down in his space. She smelled strongly of cardamom and anise, and he was reminded of his mother. “Are you hurt?” she asked. He shook his head no. “That was the intruder?” she added, pointing at the downed Alpha while her partner moved to cover the doors to the restrooms. Gabriel nodded. “Was that also the feral Alpha?” This time, he shook his head no. “The feral Alpha’s in the bathroom?” she asked next.

“Not feral anymore,” he tried to say, although it came out garbled. She raised her eyebrows in surprise, but nodded, and gently took the phone he was holding from him and set it aside.

She stood up, and focused on the restroom door as another couple of police officers came in. “Is someone in there?” she called to the door. 

The voice that answered sounded as if its owner was about to die of embarrassment. “Yeah. I’m--I’m, uh, I’m busy,” Jack called. 

The officers smirked, as two peeled off from the group and went to investigate the back of the bakery. “Tell us before you come out,” the female officer instructed. “Or we may be forced to tranquilize you.” The male officer exchanged his gun for one that shot darts.  
“‘Kay,” Jack responded weakly.

EMTs arrived next, and checked the downed Alpha for a pulse before coming over to Gabriel. These were Betas, and he was glad of it--he really didn’t need more Alpha scents in his vicinity right now. They checked his blood pressure and his pulse and looked him over thoroughly. “He’s not hurt, he’s just in shock,” he heard one tell the police officers. 

“Sam,” he heard himself say. “I want Sam. Please!” 

“Is Sam your mate?” one of the EMTs--later he wouldn’t be able to describe what they looked like, he was so out of it--asked him. He always wore shirts without collars so he could show off his mating bite.

“Yeah.” He nodded, as one of them draped a blanket over him and pushed him so he was laying down on his back. “Sam.” 

“We’ll find them,” an EMT assured him. “We’ll get them here as soon as we can. In the meantime, you take deep breaths. We’re going to put your feet up, okay, and we want you to just lie here. Don’t try to move.” 

Gabriel allowed them to arrange him and the blanket however they wanted, though he was craving the feel of Sam’s arms around him. He heard a commotion from the bathroom area, and then saw the two Alpha police officers escorting a handcuffed, glowing-eyed Jack out of the bathroom. “Sorry,” one was saying, “We know you tried to help. We’ll make sure you’re in the rut tank for police officers. It’s nicer than the other one.” 

Jack was trying to tell them he just wanted to go home, and his pleas only intensified when Kelly arrived. She quickly told the police what she knew of the situation. They explained that, since Jack had gone feral, they had to take him down to the police station until he’d finished his first rut. However, they said they’d take good care of him, given the circumstances. They promised to take Kelly down to the station as well, and she made them wait for her until she’d given the EMTs Sam’s phone number. 

Gabriel wondered idly why he hadn’t thought of giving them Sam’s phone number earlier, but he supposed that since he couldn’t stop crying long enough to get the numbers out, it was a moot point anyway. He watched, idly, as Biker-dude was strapped to a stretcher and removed from the premises. He felt a little better once the Alpha was gone, but apparently not good enough to calm down. He started chanting Sam’s name over and over, in the hopes that it would make his mate appear faster. The EMTs were talking with him, trying to get him to take deep breaths, but he was beyond listening to them at this point. 

Finally--Finally! Sam burst through the front door, eyes tinged red. They alighted on Gabriel almost immediately, and, the next thing he knew, the Omega was wrapped up in the tight embrace he’d been missing. Only then did his tears begin to slow. 

Sam somehow managed to check him for injuries while not letting go of him, and Gabriel could only imagine the looks his Alpha was giving the EMTs and the police officers. He said something that Gabriel didn’t catch, and soon Gabriel was being lifted up and carried into the back, where Sam settled him on the couch they had for breaks. He caught Sam by the arm as he pulled back, unwilling to break contact with his Alpha. 

Sam began gently rubbing his arms and whispering soothing things that Gabriel couldn’t really understand, but he didn’t leave, and that was the important thing as far as the Omega was concerned. He had no idea how long it took, but eventually he calmed down enough to sit up so he could hug and scent Sam, even though his nose was mostly plugged. Sam slipped onto the couch beside him, and drew him into his lap. Gabriel finally started hearing what Sam was saying; he was mostly repeating the phrase, “It’s okay, Gabe, you’re safe now,” over and over. 

“Jack?” Gabriel finally asked. 

“He’ll be okay,” Sam assured him. “Kelly’s at the police station with him.” 

“Hurt,” Gabriel said. 

“You are? Where do you hurt?” Sam asked, concerned eyes raking over him once more.

Gabriel shook his head. “Jack. Guy punched him. Hard.” 

Sam pulled his Omega a little closer. “He’ll be okay. They’ll get him a doctor if he needs one. They know he didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

Suddenly, Gabriel felt his spine stiffen. “The guy out back!” he exclaimed. 

“Shhh. It’s okay. They caught him. They took both of them to jail,” Sam assured Gabriel. “No one can hurt you now. You’re safe.” 

An oddly familiar voice asked, “Can he talk?”

Sam looked over at the swinging door to the back. Someone was standing there, but Gabriel couldn’t see who it was. Sam growled at the man, but then admitted, “A little.” 

“I just need to ask him a couple of questions.” The person stepped further into the back, although he remained on the other side of the room, a respectful distance away from Sam and Gabriel. Gabriel caught sight of his dark skin and finally placed him--it was the detective they’d spoken with months ago, Victor Henricksen. 

Sam glared at Victor, but didn’t growl again. Victor seemed to take that as permission to ask his questions. “Gabriel...were there only the two of them?”

“Far as I know,” Gabriel replied, punctuating it with an unflattering hiccup. “Guy said he had someone in back to grab me if I ran. Only--only saw him,” he said, hiccuping a second time.

“We caught the one in back,” Victor assured him. He seemed to think about his words carefully. “Did he say why he wanted to...hurt you?” Gabriel shook his head no, and Victor nodded. 

“This has something to do with Becky Rosen,” Sam growled. “I know it. And you’d better fucking find her before I do, or I’m going to kill the bitch.” Gabriel stared up at Sam, nonplussed. The statement was...incredibly uncharacteristic of his mate, although in that moment, he believed him. 

Victor nodded. “My partner’s putting out an APB on her right now,” he agreed. “Please don’t take the law into your own hands, though. If you see her...please notify us.” 

Sam grunted. Noncommittally. “Fuck,” he said. “She knows where we live.” 

“Is there somewhere else you can go?” Victor prompted. 

After a moment, Sam nodded. “Gabriel’s parents’ house,” he said. “She might know where Dean and Cas’ place is; I used to live there.” He looked up at Victor. “We’ll be safe there--they have good security.” 

Victor nodded. “Good,” he said. “Benny and I will want to talk to both of you tomorrow, but for now, he should get as much rest as he can. We have your phone number; we’ll text you with any updates.” 

“I--I don’t have my car,” Sam admitted. “I ran here. And--we’ll have to close Sprinkles!--” Gabriel could almost see the logical part of his brain kicking in. 

“It’s still a crime scene. If you give us the keys, we’ll lock up when we leave,” Victor told him. “And...I’m not supposed to, but I’ll give you both a ride. Neither of you are in any shape to drive; it would be irresponsible of me to let you.” He paused. “For what it’s worth...I’m sorry this happened to you.” 

Sam nodded at him, and sighed. “Give us a few more minutes?” he requested. “And then we can go.” 

“All right,” agreed Victor. “By the way, your employee is being seen by a doctor in our nicest rut tank. His jaw may be broken and he’ll have one hell of a bruise in a couple of days regardless, but otherwise he’s fine. Unless something happened that we don’t know about yet, he won’t be facing any charges. He’ll just have to stay for a few days until his rut is finished, and then he can go home.”

Gabriel felt better, knowing that Jack was (mostly) okay. “Thanks,” Sam said; Gabriel was happy allowing the Alpha to do the talking. “We’ll be out in a few more minutes.”

“Take as long as you need,” Victor told them before disappearing into the front.

Gabriel hugged Sam as tightly as he could, and buried his face in his mate’s neck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I had to do that to Gabriel and Jack :(. And I hate to say it, but if you hate me for this chapter, you're gonna hate me even more once you find out what the pills were supposed to do...


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam and Gabriel deal with the immediate fallout from the events of the previous evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is un-betaed, so expect run-on sentences and an inability to use the verb 'to lie' properly XD. (In all seriousness, some of the dialogue just wasn't working, and while I tried to beat it into submission, I may have failed in several spots.)

By the next morning, Sam was giving silent thanks to Whomever May Be Listening for his mate’s family. He’d called ahead as they were driving across town with Victor, and Chuck, Raphael, and Madison had met them at the door. Raphael had given Gabriel a mild sedative after a thorough checkup, and he’d immediately passed out and was still sleeping. Raphael had offered Sam the same thing, but Sam had declined. He had spent the night pacing the hallway--silently, he hoped--and pulling at his hair because he hadn’t been there for his mate.

His phone rang early the next morning. The caller ID said it was Kelly, so he answered. “Hello?”

“Sam? Is Gabriel okay?” He heard Kelly’s worried voice on the other end of the line. 

“He’s sleeping,” Sam told her. “He’s...really upset, but there’s nothing physically wrong with him.” 

Kelly breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God. Jack had said neither the Alpha nor him had gotten close enough to hurt him, but I wasn’t sure.”

“How is Jack?” Sam asked. 

“He’s got a broken jaw,” Kelly replied. “But it didn’t have to be wired shut or anything; he just has to be careful. Otherwise, he’s mostly embarrassed.” 

Sam made a face. “I’m so sorry he got hurt. Make sure you submit it all to our insurance.” 

“I will. And...it’s okay. Apparently the other Alpha has a bunch of broken ribs and a broken arm, so he at least gave back as good as he got.” There was a note of pride in Kelly’s voice, although she also sounded conflicted about the fact that she was proud of her son for beating someone up. 

“That’s a lot less than what I would have done to him,” Sam reassured her. “And from what I saw and heard, he deserved every bit of it.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Uhh--so…I’m really sorry about what happened, and if you want both Jack and I to quit, I totally understand,” she said, slowly, as if she were carefully choosing her words. “We won’t make a fuss about notice or anything.” 

“What? No!” Sam shook his head, even though she couldn’t see him. “No...I don’t think Gabriel will have any problem with you at all. It may take him time before he can be alone with Jack on a shift again, but I know he won’t want the two of you to quit over this. Jack wasn’t in control of himself, and we all knew it was possible he’d go into rut at work. And I can’t even imagine what could have happened had Jack not been there.” He shuddered. “No, we’ll work it out somehow.”

Kelly let out a breath. “Thank you. I really appreciate it. It wouldn’t have been easy for us to find something else.”

“It’s fine,” Sam assured her. “Would you mind--could you tell me what Jack has told you about what happened? Gabriel hasn’t been able to talk to me yet, and I’m beating myself up over all the things I’m imagining.” 

“Don’t,” Kelly told him immediately. “Even if this is your stalker’s fault, it’s not yours. And like I said, no one actually got too close to Gabriel.” She gave Sam a quick summary of what she had done, and then what Jack had told both her and the police. 

Sam couldn’t quite find the words for a moment or two after she finished, but he finally managed, “Thank you. You’re probably the only one who could have talked Jack out of a feral state.”

“Thank Gabriel,” she said promptly. “It’s him who thought of calling me and putting me on speakerphone. But...yes. I’m so glad he thought of it. I know how horrible Jack would feel right now if he’d done anything to your mate...not to mention what Gabriel would be going through.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, closing his eyes against the pain of the thought. 

“Okay. I’ll let you go; I know you need to keep an eye on Gabriel,” Kelly told him. “I just wanted to make sure he was as good as possible given the circumstances. If you need anything from me, just let me know. Jack is stuck in the tank for a few more days, but the police are being really nice about it. Apparently that Alpha he beat up was trouble, and they’re impressed that he managed to come out of a feral state, so he’s getting a lot of attention.” 

“I suppose if he has to be stuck in a tank, at least he’s making friends. Okay. I’ll talk to you later, Kelly,” Sam said, before hanging up and putting the phone down with a sigh. He hoped he was right about how Gabriel would feel about Jack, but he was pretty sure that his mate was strong enough to get over the experience, given enough time. If not, they’d have to work something else out. 

Garth showed up not long after Sam got the phone call, and sat with Sam in the living room. Naomi was away for a business meeting, but was already on a plane back. Raphael must have cancelled his appointments for today, because he and Madison were still there. Having made breakfast for everyone, Chuck was not writing; instead he had joined them in the living room. Dean was working, but Castiel was on his way with Mary--Chuck had extended an invitation to them once he’d learned that Becky might know where Dean’s house was. 

After they congregated in the living room, Sam told them as much as he could about the situation. They very nearly formed a posse to go after Becky then and there; Garth and Sam barely managed to talk Gabriel’s family out of it. Chuck had insisted earlier that morning that he would take care of Garth’s bill; Sam knew Gabriel was going to throw a fit about that once he was feeling better, but given that Garth had already been present for several hours, Sam knew there was no way they could afford the bill right now anyway. 

Garth kept up a steady conversation with Sam. Sam knew he was being gently psychoanalyzed and helped, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Garth couched his questions in the excuse that he needed to know more about what was happening so he could better help Gabriel, and Sam let him get away with the fiction. Heaven knows he needed the support; he kept having to fight the urge to dart upstairs and make sure Gabriel was still okay even though he checked on him every fifteen minutes or so. 

They all sat in the living room for a couple of hours, waiting for Detectives Henricksen and Lafitte to arrive. Sam was nearly physically sick every time he thought about the fact that he hadn’t been able to protect his mate, and that once again, horrible things could have happened to Gabriel if luck hadn’t been in their favor. 

When the detectives finally arrived, they were met with a solid wall of family and pseudo-family. Sam didn’t think it was a good sign that they agreed to speak to everyone before they spoke with Gabriel, but he could hardly complain. “We ain’t caught Becky,” Detective Lafitte said after they’d all been settled. He looked as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep. “But the ‘wake Alpha we arrested said they were hired by a female Omega who matches her description, so we have no reason ta think that this’s just a random crime.”

He waited until the swearing and muttering had died away to continue. The detectives had been introduced to everyone, so he addressed the next explanation to Raphael. “They were supposedly hired to dose him with Avinculum. The rest was their idea.”

Raphael shot to his feet; Sam had never seen the Omega move so fast before. “Did he take any?!?” the doctor demanded, going pale, even as Madison swore loudly and climbed to her feet after her mate. 

Victor answered him. “No. The unconscious Alpha had a bottle of it on him, and all the pills were accounted for, or we’d have contacted you immediately. Plus, Jack assured us that he never got close enough to Gabriel to give him any pills.”

Sam’s heart rate soared. “What’s Avinculum?” he couldn’t help but demand, going so far as to growl slightly at Detective Lafitte, the only other Alpha in the room. He didn’t think he wanted the answer to the question, based on Raphael’s reaction, but he also knew that he needed to know or that he’d go insane imagining the possibilities.

“Please, everyone, calm down,” Victor said, raising his hands. Benny leaned away from Sam, and even bared his throat slightly, which helped Sam to at least lower his heart rate. Raphael and Madison took their seats again. “Avinculum is a drug that’s used to dissolve mate bonds, usually in cases of rape and incest,” he explained slowly. 

Everyone started shouting and/or swearing at the same time, but Sam couldn’t hear them because he had jumped to his feet and was literally seeing red. He felt his fingernails lengthen, and didn’t think he’d ever been so close to going feral. Someone grabbed him and pulled his head down; he yelped in surprise but also took a breath, and the scent turned out to be surprisingly similar to Gabriel’s: cloves instead of cinnamon, and yeasty dough instead of baked bread, but similar enough that it immediately calmed him. He allowed himself to take a few steadying breaths before he realized that he was scenting Raphael and pulled away. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled, feeling his face redden as he realized that the doctor had gotten up and was standing in front of him.

“It’s all right. I’m a doctor,” Raphael reminded him, and Madison was right behind him, nodding but looking worried. “I’m used to calming down upset Alphas. Can you handle the rest of it, or should we take a break?”

Sam swallowed hard. “...There’s more?” he asked, making a face. After a moment of thinking, he sat back down and nodded for Raphael to continue.

Raphael took over from Victor, nodding in response to Sam’s question. “Unfortunately. The drug is usually given to the Alpha. It makes you extremely sick as it completely changes your body chemistry, your scent, everything. After you’ve taken it, they say nothing ever smells quite the same to you. Some Alphas that have been given it can’t even recognize their own family members by smell afterward. But, it gets rid of the bond.”

He took a deep breath and watched Sam closely as he spoke. “It’s only given to Omegas in extreme emergencies. It makes them sick, too, and catapults them into a really nasty heat. There’s been...fatalities...before. Several. Even in hospital settings.” He looked disgusted, and Madison soothed him by patting his shoulder. 

When Sam managed to stay calm through Raphael’s explanation, Victor nodded and added, “Because of the mortality rate of the drug, we’ll be charging the two Alphas with attempted murder in addition to assault and attempted kidnapping. We’re hoping that it makes them more likely to testify against the person who hired them. We’re still proceeding on the assumption that that person is Becky Rosen, though we don’t know for certain. The second Alpha is still unconscious, and he seems to have known more than his partner.” 

“We can’t tell Gabey any of this,” Chuck interjected, looking concerned and shaking his head. “He’s already been traumatized enough, without knowing that those pills could have killed him.” 

Garth opened his mouth, but Sam beat him to it. “We don’t have to tell him right this second, but I’m not going to keep something like that from him for long. Sorry, Chuck, but we promised we wouldn’t lie to each other about important things, and this is definitely important.” 

Garth looked slightly relieved at Sam’s declaration. “I agree; he’ll find out whether we tell him or not. Best that we tell him when he has plenty of support available. We can wait a day or so, but I wouldn’t recommend leaving it longer than that.” 

Raphael reached out and took Chuck’s hand, squeezing it. “They’re right, Dad. He’ll find out, at the trial if not before, and he’ll be angry we didn’t tell him. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s one of the first things he asks when he wakes up.” 

Chuck shook his head, but didn’t protest further. Sam completely understood why he didn’t want Gabriel to know just how close he’d come to such unpleasantness a second time in his life, but he also knew that Gabriel would, eventually, want to know what the pills the men wanted to give him did. 

“That’s entirely up to you,” Victor said diplomatically. “We have Jack’s statement, so we don’t technically need to speak with Gabriel today, but the earlier we speak with him, the better. It’s amazing what falls out of your memory after only a few hours. For now, if you all don’t mind giving us some privacy, we’d like to speak with Sam alone about Becky. Unless any of you have met her?”

There was a chorus of nos, and Gabriel’s family got up and made themselves scarce. Raphael told Sam he’d go keep an eye on Gabriel so Sam didn’t have to worry about him waking up alone. Sam thanked the doctor, and then faced Victor and Benny. “I apologize for my behavior earlier,” he told them, feeling more than a little sheepish. 

“Ain’t nothin’ t’apologize for,” Benny replied, shaking his head. “I’da done the same if it were Andrea.” 

Victor nodded his agreement. “My partner looks like a giant teddy bear until he finds someone doing something they shouldn’t. Then he gets downright scary.” 

“Still,” Sam said. He took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you all about Becky, but I don’t think I know anything that could help; otherwise I would have texted it to you already.” The detectives nodded, and Sam launched into another explanation of how he’d first met Becky back in school, hadn’t heard from her in years, and so on. They interrupted him occasionally with questions, but in the end agreed that he didn’t seem to have any useful information. 

“If’n she contacts either of y’all, please let us know as soon as possible,” Benny told him, when they were through. “We haven’t told the reporters exactly what happened, so she shouldn’t know from the news whether or not they gave him the pills.” 

“And please let us know when Gabriel is ready to speak with us,” Victor added, as they climbed to their feet. “We’re going to do everything possible to catch and prosecute everyone responsible. Oh, speaking of things we’re doing, we’re going to do one more walkthrough of your bakery and then we’ll release it as a crime scene this afternoon.” 

“That reminds me,” Sam said, nodding. “Please, let everyone working there know that they can take any baked goods they want. They’re a day old now, so while they’re all still good we can’t even donate them to the homeless shelter after noon. We’ll literally just have to throw them away if you don’t take them. Plus, it’s the least we can do to thank all of you.” 

“Thank you,” Victor replied. “We should probably decline, but I saw doughnuts in there, and you know how us cops are.” They all laughed, and Victor and Benny stood up and shook Sam’s hand. 

“Well, please, help yourself,” Sam assured them, as he showed them out. “And don’t limit yourself to doughnuts; some of what Gabriel makes has to be tasted to be believed.” 

“Tell him we hope he gets better soon when he wakes up,” Victor offered on their way out. Sam nodded, and then closed and locked the door behind them. He leaned his head against it for a minute, and then turned to go upstairs and check on his mate. 

.oOOo.

Gabriel felt floaty when we woke up, and he couldn’t remember why. He smelled that Sam was present and upset; he turned his head and found his mate passed out beside him, on top of the covers and still wearing all of his clothes. 

“Shh,” someone said, and Gabriel turned his head to the other side to see his brother, Raphael, addressing him in a low voice. “He only just fell asleep.” 

Gabriel blinked at his brother a few times before everything started to come back to him. “Shit.” He kept his voice low so he didn’t wake up Sam, as he scrubbed a hand across his face. “What--where--no, wait--why do I feel so weird?”

“I gave you a sedative last night; it hasn’t completely worn off yet,” Raphael told his brother. “The important thing is that you’re safe and you’re uninjured.” 

Gabriel frowned at his brother, willing himself to try to remember what had happened. The memories were coming back, but slowly. “Jack!” he said finally, hissing the name to avoid shouting it. “Is he all right?”

“Yeah.” Raphael sat down in a chair next to the bed and nodded. “He has a broken jaw, but he hasn’t gone feral again and the police are taking good care of him.” He peered at Gabriel. “Garth is here, would you like me to go get him?” 

Gabriel thought about it, and nodded. “Yeah. Since Sam isn’t awake.” He considered getting up, but his limbs felt heavy and he didn’t want to. Plus, he was fairly certain that they could talk quietly and not wake Sam up. Then again, that might be the sedative talking. 

“Okay. I’ll be right back. There’s water right here if you want it. Are you hungry?”

Gabriel had to think about it again. “Maybe a little.” 

“Okay. I’ll get something for you to eat, too,” Raphael promised before leaving. 

Gabriel stared up at the ceiling. He knew he should probably be freaking out right now, but he didn’t seem to have the energy or inclination--again, that was probably the sedative talking. At the same time, he hadn’t actually been hurt, which was good. And if Jack was okay, that meant that everything had turned out all right in the end. Still, he took hold of Sam’s hand and pulled his mate’s hand and arm over his chest; he wanted to be held. 

He knew he’d be able to get over all of this, that he’d be okay again one day, just like he had been after Alistair and Gordon had kidnapped him...but a very small, very tired part of him wanted to just give up and not have to go through all the therapy and everything all over again. Maybe Sam wasn’t right; maybe his mate should lock him up in their apartment and never let him leave, like medieval Alphas had done with their Omegas. He backed up, snuggling into Sam. 

He must have snuggled harder than he meant to, because he heard a soft groan behind him. “Gabe?” Sam asked sleepily. His arm tightened briefly around Gabriel. 

“Shh. Go back to sleep,” Gabriel instructed. 

“Mmmph. You smell funny,” Sam mumbled. 

Gabriel snorted. “Way to make me feel good, Sam.” 

He felt Sam move behind him. “You’re awake. And still on the sedative.” 

Gabriel rolled his eyes. “You noticed.” He turned his head a little, and saw Sam propped up on an elbow, looking down at Gabriel. 

“How are you feeling?” Sam asked, pushing Gabriel’s hair back from his eyes with his free hand. 

“Weird. But Raffie says he gave me something.” 

“He did,” Sam agreed. “Do you remember what happened last night?”

Gabriel nodded, feeling his face crumple slightly. “Most of it, I think. I...don’t really remember how we got here, though. Just you coming in and taking me in the back.” 

“Detective Henriksen drove us,” Sam explained. “And Raphael met us and took care of you.” 

“Guess I’m going to have to stop making fun of him for going to medical school,” Gabriel said, though he didn’t really feel like cracking a joke. 

“Can I get that in writing?” asked Raphael, opening up the door and admitting himself and Garth. “Dad’s making you something to eat. Did you drink anything?”

Gabriel rolled his eyes, but reached for the water on the nightstand. Sam helped him sit up a little and then steadied the glass as he drank. He set it back on the wooden surface with slightly more force than was probably absolutely necessary, and glared at his brother. 

Raphael just smiled at him. “Good. Now, let me take your blood pressure.” Gabriel stuck an arm out toward him, and only barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes again. 

“Do you want me to leave so you can talk with Garth?” Sam asked from behind him. 

Gabriel immediately shook his head. “No! I want you to stay,” he insisted, grabbing hold of Sam’s hand again and pulling his arm across his chest. 

“Okay,” Sam agreed. “Let me know if you change your mind.” 

“Hey, little buddy,” Garth said, once Raphael had taken his blood pressure and moved out of the way so Garth could take the seat by the bed. “How’re you feeling?”

“Floaty. Raffie says the medicine’s still working,” Gabriel replied, as Sam molded himself to his side. 

Raphael interrupted to tell Garth exactly which sedative he’d given Gabriel, and Garth nodded. “That makes sense. Do you want to talk? Or wait until you’re less floaty?”

Gabriel had to think about it. “Talk,” he said finally, as Raphael left the room to give them some privacy. 

“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

Gabriel hated that question more than the many others that were in the therapist’s arsenal. Still, the medicine made what little filter he had between his brain and his mouth go away, so he immediately whined, “Why me?”

“Oh, buddy.” Garth gave him a sympathetic look, while Sam hugged him. “You know that’s one of those questions we can never answer.” 

“I know, but...why? Why do they all have to...why do they all look at us like that?” Gabriel knew he was still whining, but didn’t care. 

“You mean Alphas?” Garth clarified. When Gabriel nodded, the therapist shrugged. “You know not all of them do. Those that do...it’s because they’re not capable of attracting a mate on their own, and it’s easier to think that there’s something wrong with all Omegas than it is to think there’s something wrong with themselves.” 

“But even Jack wanted to--to--” Gabriel couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. 

Garth heaved a deep sigh. “Jack’s own hormones were poisoning his brain. Have you ever gone feral before?”

Gabriel shook his head. He’d come close, during a panic attack or two, but had never gone all the way over. 

“It’s not fun,” Garth explained. “It just...shuts down the rational part of your brain, and the instinctual part takes over. With Jack in rut, all he could think about was fighting other Alphas--which he did--and then mating. He would have gone after anyone nearby, even other Alphas. Any feral Alpha would have.” He paused for a moment. “Are you mad at him, Gabe?”

Gabriel started to shake his head no, but stopped himself and, after another moment’s thought, shook his head in the affirmative. “I know I shouldn’t be,” he said, “but…” He made a helpless gesture.

“It’s okay to be mad at him,” Garth told the other Omega. “I’d be shocked if you weren’t, after everything you’ve been through and what he almost did. It’s hard to forgive someone for something like that. I think you will, in time, but for now, if you feel angry, just let yourself be angry. At him, or at all Alphas, if you want.” 

“Not all Alphas,” Gabriel said, glancing at Sam. 

“Even me, if you want,” Sam said gently, leaning his forehead against the side of Gabriel’s head. “I couldn’t protect you.” 

Gabriel and Garth both sighed at the same time. “Sam,” Gabriel said, seeing clearly either despite or because of the medication, “...that’s not your job. No one can protect anyone else all of the time; that’s why they hire bodyguards in shifts. Even if you’d been there--he could’ve knocked you out like he did Jack, or even killed you. This isn’t your fault.” Garth nodded in agreement. 

“Tell that to my instincts,” Sam replied, but gave him a weak smile. 

“Hey! Sam’s instincts! Stop being douchebags!” Gabriel yelled suddenly, prompting a slightly larger smile. “...You’re not going to make me give up Sprinkles!, are you?” he blurted out seconds later.

“What? No!” Sam sat straight up. “Gabriel, I’d never. I know how much you love it. I may want to chain myself to you so that I’m always there when you need me, but I’d never ask you to stop working.” 

Gabriel launched himself at Sam, and though he only hugged his mate, his father still chose that moment to enter the room. Chuck just laughed to see them in each other’s arms, with Garth looking on with a trace of wistfulness in his gaze. “Sorry to interrupt,” Chuck said, “but I brought you some soup, Gabey.” 

“I’ll go for now,” Garth said, standing up. “You get something to eat, and then you can call me back in or you can get some more sleep, whichever feels right.” 

“Thank you,” Gabriel told him, as he accepted a steaming bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup from his father. 

“You’re welcome, little buddy,” Garth said as he left. 

“I should be mad at you two,” Gabriel said before trying the soup. “Dad’s paying for him, isn’t he?” He blew on a spoonful, and then carefully sipped it.

“Yeah,” Sam admitted. “We can always treat it like a loan, though, if you want.” 

“Don’t you dare,” Chuck told them. “I insist. Your mother and I have more money than we could ever spend, and I’ll be damned if I don’t spend it on things that make my baby feel better.” He clapped Gabriel on the shoulder. “Some things are just too important, and family’s one of them.” Nodding to Sam, he added, “There’s more soup downstairs, if you’d like some, or there’s plenty of leftovers in the fridge. You need to eat, too. You’re enormous. I never thought I’d have an elephant for a son-in-law.” 

“Maybe later,” Sam replied, though he gave Chuck a smile when Gabriel nearly snorted soup up his nose at his dad’s comment. Gabriel thought about arguing with his father about the money, but knew he didn’t have the energy to do so right now--so he quietly ate his soup, and thought about how he could repay his father as Chuck left the room to give he and Sam some time alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo...do you hate me now XD?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benny has a Winchester-worthy plan. And Gabriel is finally told what those pills do...

In the end, Gabriel spoke with the detectives the following morning, once the sedative had completely worn off. The question of the pills passed with barely any comment: “He said he was going to give me pills; I don’t know what they were, probably the ones that make you go into heat.” The detectives, at a look from Sam, who was present, just nodded and let it go. 

“So you still haven’t found Becky?” Sam asked when they were finished speaking with Gabriel.

Both detectives shook their heads. “She’s gone to ground.” Victor said. “Impressive, given her previous social media presence, but she’s somehow holding off on posting selfies.” 

“Prolly ain’t got a computer,” Detective Lafitte supplied, before nudging Victor. “We should talk to him about it,” he told the other detective.

“About what?” Sam asked. Gabriel was reclined in bed, though not laying down fully, and could practically feel Sam’s interest from where their bodies pressed together. 

Victor sighed and glared at his partner. “About a _really_ bad idea he had.”

“Ya said ‘awesome’ wrong,” Benny told him. “Look, she wants ta get together with you, yeah?” He addressed this last to Sam. 

Sam nodded. “Yes.”

“Well, she ain’t got no idea if’n he were given the pills,” Detective Lafitte said, nodding to Gabriel, who had the oddest feeling he wasn’t going to like where this was going. “So, if’n the family says their boy is in the hospital, with his mate beside him, maybe she’ll come sniffin’ around.”

Gabriel took a few moments to parse that statement, but when he did… “No! You’re not using Sam as bait! What if she has a gun? What if someone else gets shot?”

“Thank you! That’s what I said,” Victor exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. 

Gabriel looked over and up to find Sam thinking hard, and he rolled his eyes. His mate was undoubtedly about to ‘improve’ upon the insane plan. 

“What if we say he’s at Dean and Cas’, being treated by Raphael?” Sam suggested finally. “There’s plenty of room out there, so assuming Dean and Cas can stay here, no one can accidentally get hurt.” 

“Sam!” Gabriel protested. “They still can’t use you as bait! That’s illegal!”

Sam looked over at Detective Lafitte, and sighed. “That’s the only way she’ll show herself, isn’t it?” he asked quietly. “If she sees me.” 

“We can try it for a day or so without you,” Hendricksen said, sounding defeated. “But, yes, chances are good that if she doesn’t see you, she won’t come out of hiding. Of course, we’d have you fitted with a bulletproof vest, and we’d have as many plainclothes officers as we could in the area.” 

Sam looked down at Gabriel, who promptly gave his mate puppy-dog eyes. He could tell that Sam had already made up his mind, though. “I don’t mind being bait,” Sam said slowly. “But I don’t like the idea of being away from Gabriel.” 

“We can’t risk him being there,” Victor said quickly. 

“No, of course not,” Sam replied, glancing up at the detectives. “I wouldn’t let you.” It was a statement of fact, not a threat. “But that means I’ll have to be there and not here.” 

“Why is it okay for you to go but not me?” Gabriel demanded, sitting further up. “If it’s too dangerous for me, it’s too dangerous for you.”

He should have known better than to try to argue with a proto-lawyer. Sam snorted. “It’s not about how dangerous it is, Gabe. It’s about the fact that you being there won’t make her show herself. Me being there will. Right?” he glanced up at Victor for confirmation. 

The detective sighed. “It’s too dangerous for both of you, but he’s right. We can’t be sure she’d come out of hiding to talk to you, especially if we make it sound like you’re no longer mated to Sam. But since she wants to be Sam’s mate, she’ll have to approach him at some point.” 

Gabriel glared up at Sam, but he could see his mate had already made his decision. He knew he could beg Sam to stay and Sam would...but at the same time, they really did need to do something about Becky. Her actions hadn’t just hurt Sam and Gabriel; she was seriously unhinged and needed help. So, he sighed. “Fine.” 

Sam looked down at him, then gave him a gentle smile and leaned down to press his lips to his forehead. “All right. Assuming the Shurley’s representatives are willing to lie to the media, and Dean and Cas are okay with us using their place, I’ll do it.”

“Okay. We’ll set up and get word out today,” Benny said. “Then try without you tomorrow, then probably the next day we’ll need you if’n you’re still willin’. _And_ if’n ya promise not to hurt her if she does approach you.” 

Sam frowned, but nodded. “Fine,” he repeated. Gabriel hugged him; he knew Sam had more than enough reason to get violent with her. 

“All right. We’ll get outta yer hair,” Detective Lafitte told them, “and keep you up to date via text. If either if y’all remember anything…”

Sam and Gabriel both nodded, and the detectives turned to head back downstairs. 

“I don’t like this,” Gabriel blurted out. 

“I know. I don’t either,” Sam replied, pulling Gabriel close. “But the sooner we find her, the better.” 

“Yeah,” Gabriel said, hands sliding along the muscle definitions on Sam’s back. “Soooo...when are you going to tell me what they’re not telling me?”

Sam pulled back and made a face. “I didn’t think you noticed that.”

Gabriel shrugged tiredly. “Never try to prank a prankster,” he explained, reclining back on the pillows. “It must be bad, if you’ve made them promise not to tell me.”

“It’s bad,” Sam confirmed. “We were waiting to tell you until you’d gotten over the initial shock. And we wanted to make sure we were all here when you found out.” He glanced up in surprise as Raphael, Chuck, and Garth entered the room. “How--?” he started.

“You may be his mate, but I’ve been his brother much longer,” Raphael explained. 

“And I gave birth to the little shit,” Chuck noted, softening his statement with a smile and a wink at Gabriel, who gave him a tired smile back. “So. Since you’re set on telling him, here we are.” 

Gabriel was already re-thinking his demand to know whatever it was they were keeping from him, but now that he was certain there was something to know, he knew he wouldn’t settle down until he knew it. He heaved a big sigh. “Okay, I’m as ready as I can be, tell me.”

“It’s about those pills,” Sam said gently, watching his reactions carefully. “They weren’t meant to induce a heat. They would have…” his voice broke, and Gabriel started to get really worried--what could possibly upset Sam this much? Sam cleared his throat. “They would’ve dissolved our mate bond, permanently.” 

Gabriel felt himself gaping at Sam like the proverbial fish. “Wha--but--no!” he managed. “No!” He sat up again, and threw his arms around Sam. “Not possible!” he insisted. “We’re true mates!” 

He heard a sigh behind him, and knew it was his brother. “This drug could have done it,” Raphael told him. “And it would have hurt you, too, very, very badly. At best.” 

“It could have even killed you,” Sam said softly, before letting out a sob. Only then did Gabriel realize his mate was crying. 

Gabriel started to shake, and realized that he was about to have a panic attack. This time, he verbalized it. “No no no no no--”

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Try to breathe, little buddy. You’re all right. You didn’t take the pills. Everyone’s safe. Deep breath.” Gabriel tried, but failed, and his litany of denial came to a sudden end as he sobbed and then began to cry himself. 

Gabriel hated the feelings that a panic attack brought on, though at least nowadays he could pull Sam close rather than pushing him away. He felt his heart flutter at the thought of never being with Sam again, of losing the bond between them. So, he held his mate close as he shivered and cried hysterically. Sam soon stopped crying himself and started making soothing sounds and running his large hands up and down Gabriel’s back while he cried. 

Several minutes went by before Gabriel even registered what Garth was saying to him; once he did, he started to try to regulate his breathing, but it was difficult. The thought of being parted from Sam--forever!--was just too much on top of everything else. Then he coughed, something went the wrong way the next time he sobbed, and he retched and threw up all over Sam. 

Raphael produced a waste basket, but it was too late. Gabriel stared in horror at his mate, whose clothes were absolutely covered in vomit. “Shit! Oh god, Sam, I’m sorry!” On the bright side, the sudden shock more or less ended his panic attack then and there. 

Sam stared down at himself; Gabriel knew they’d all laugh about this later, but at the moment it was mortifying. “Gabriel!” he complained, shooting his mate Bitch Face #712. 

“Just think of it as good practice for when you have pups,” Raphael said, as Sam carefully climbed out of the bed. Raphael looked amused, but Gabriel supposed that vomit was funny when you were a doctor. Garth, meanwhile, was leaning away from all of them. 

“Sorry, Sam!” Gabriel climbed out of bed as well; he needed to rinse his mouth out. He grabbed Sam a change of clothes (Dean had gone to their apartment and brought them some of their things). 

“It’s okay,” Sam said in a tone that Gabriel knew meant that Sam didn’t actually enjoy being covered in vomit but that he’d already forgiven Gabriel for throwing up on him. Gabriel followed Sam into the bathroom and closed the door, and Sam started to strip. Gabriel gave a weak wolf-whistle, prompting Sam to turn around and ask, “Are you okay now?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Gabriel replied, cupping his hands underneath the faucet to get water to rinse his mouth out with. “Least if I don’t think about it too hard.” He rinsed out his mouth, drank a little, and then grabbed Sam’s discarded jeans. He rinsed them off under the sink, while Sam stepped into the shower--Gabriel hadn’t _only_ hit his clothes, it seemed, or maybe he just wanted to feel cleaner. 

“I nearly went feral when they told me,” Sam admitted before turning the water on. 

“Really?” Gabriel couldn’t quite believe that his in-control mate could be affected that much. 

“Yeah. I was...really upset. Almost attacked Detective Lafitte just because he was an Alpha,” Sam called over the sound of the spray. Gabriel finished rinsing the jeans, and threw them over a towel rack--he’d put them in the hamper once they dried. He picked up the shirt, which was in much worse shape, and started on it. “So don’t feel bad for being upset.” 

“I don’t...I am sorry I puked on you, though,” Gabriel told him as he started washing vomit off of Sam’s plaid shirt. 

“I know you are,” Sam replied. “It’s okay. Nothing that won’t wash off or out.” Gabriel heard him turn the water off, and put the shirt onto the rack next to the pants. He grabbed a large towel, and held it ready as his mate stepped out of the shower. Sam gave him a small smile. “Thanks,” he said, wrapping it around himself before leaning down to hug Gabriel--who could hardly complain about the drops of water Sam got all over him after what he’d just doused Sam with. “You sure you’re okay?”

Gabriel took stock of himself. Having something to do had helped, so he nodded. “Yeah. The shock’s worn off, I guess. I just...Sam, I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost my bond with you.” 

Sam hugged him a bit harder. “You won’t have to find out,” he promised, stepping back to dry himself. “I don’t know _why_ you put up with me long enough for me to mate you, but you did, so you’re stuck with me now.” 

Gabriel gave him a very pointed look, although he wasn’t able to summon much heat in his current state. “The view, definitely the view,” he remarked, laughing softly when Sam threw the towel at him and began to dress in the clean clothes. “What are we going to do about Sprinkles!?”

Sam took a deep breath. “You’re going to take the time you need to heal,” he said. “I--I would really rather not open it until they find Becky, because she knows about it. And that goes for everyone, Jack and Kelly and you--I don’t want anyone working there, at least, not without me.” He sighed. “Does that make me a bad person?”

“No.” Gabriel shook his head and set his hand on Sam’s forearm. “You just don’t want to see anyone else get hurt. I understand, but at some point...we can’t keep it closed for long, whether they find her or not.” 

“I know,” Sam said. “But let’s let the detectives try this thing at Dean’s, and then if it doesn’t work, I’ll go back with Jack and Kelly and we’ll muddle on without you until you’re feeling better. It’s still only a few days, and with unexpected ruts and heats, small businesses close for a few days all the time.” 

Gabriel nodded; as much as he wanted Sprinkles! to be successful, he couldn’t really argue with Sam’s points. “I...it’s going to be hard for me to work with Jack, for a while. I mean, I know he didn’t mean to do it, but Sam...he was _drooling_.” 

“I know,” Sam said, pulling his shirt on and then patting his mate on the back. “I talked with Kelly; we’ll work it out so he’s working with her or me until you’re comfortable with him again.” He paused. “And if he _ever_ drools at you again…”

His comment made Gabriel laugh, and they exited the bathroom together. Garth had left, likely to give them some space, but Raphael was still there, and Dean, Cas and Mary had arrived. “Dude. What’s this about letting the police operate stings at my house?” 

Sam shrugged. “Better than at a hospital?” he attempted. 

Dean snorted. “I guess. Hope you don’t mind us coming up here, but Mary here wanted to see the ‘Cookie Man.’”

“Ookie Ma’!” Mary exclaimed from where she was being held in Cas’ arms. She held out her arms and waved them at Gabriel, who grinned and walked over to pick her up. “‘Ookie!”

“Sorry, sweetie,” Gabriel said, scooping her up and inhaling her familiar scent of apples and beer. “I don’t have any cookies today. But I can be a plane. Do you like plane rides?” Without waiting for a response, he held her up and started making airplane noises while ‘zooming’ her around the room. She cackled madly. 

“It’s fine,” Sam told Dean. “Though you missed the fun part where Gabriel vomited on me.” 

“Mary does that all the time,” Castiel put in. Gabriel could see out of the corner of his eye that Castiel was watching Mary and him despite joining in the conversation. He couldn’t really blame the other Omega; he’d want to watch if Cas was holding his pup. When. When Cas was holding one of his pups, in the future. Because he was definitely going to have Sam’s pups.

“Are you sure you didn’t mate a toddler?” Dean teased, earning a growl and a playful shove from Sam. Meanwhile, Mary was loving being an airplane, laughing and flailing her arms as Gabriel zoomed her around the room. 

He was feeling surprisingly content considering how he’d felt just minutes ago, so he allowed himself to crack a joke in between airplane noises. “Rulers away, boys. Don’t make me and Cas start comparing notes.” 

“As if,” Dean replied, while Sam just scoffed. Gabriel wasn’t even sure what that meant, but since he was feeling better, he wasn’t going to pick a fight with his mate’s brother. Instead, he zoomed Mary over to the bed and laid her down before pretend-tickling her, which made her laugh even louder. 

“You’re very good with her,” Cas noted, likely trying to change the subject. “Have you and Sam started trying for your own yet?” 

Gabriel found he didn’t mind the question, despite Castiel’s bluntness. “Not yet,” he said, now helping Mary to jump on the bed. “Sam made a pretty good argument that Sprinkles! is like a pup in terms of the energy and time we have to put into it, at least at first.” 

“I suppose it is,” Castiel agreed thoughtfully. “Still, I look forward to having nieces and nephews.” 

“Of course you do. You can spoil them rotten and then…” Gabriel sniffed and made a face before picking up Mary and handing her back to Cas. “Hand them back to their parents when they make a mess in their diaper.” 

Castiel sighed. “The diaper bag is downstairs. Come on, Mary. Diaper time. You can play with Cookie Man later.” He picked her up and made his way out of the room. “Dean? Are you coming?”

“Huh?” Dean and Sam had been wrestling, and Dean’s momentary inattention earned him a noogie from Sam. “Oh! Yeah!” He stuck his tongue out at Sam and then followed Cas out. 

“You look like you’re feeling better,” Sam said, making his way over to Gabriel and enfolding the Omega in his arms. “You still all right?”

“Yeah,” Gabriel confirmed, hugging his mate back. “Pups and dirty diapers just kind of put everything in perspective, you know? I’m all right, and you’re all right, and Jack will be all right.” 

He felt Sam nod. “We’re going to get through this, just like we have everything before. And just like we will everything else that comes up. Though I do hope that this is your last set of trials as a witness.” 

“Me, too.” Gabriel grimaced; he hadn’t even thought about having to face the two Alphas at trial. Though, he supposed it wouldn’t be too hard, after facing Alistair, Gordon, and their horrible lawyer Zachariah. 

“If it even comes to a trial,” Sam added hurriedly, when he pulled back and saw the look on Gabriel’s face. “They may plea bargain. And I’ll do everything I can to get Becky sent to an institution instead of jail.” 

“I hope they do. I’m just so tired,” Gabriel admitted. “No one should ever have to feel the way I do, yet…” he made a helpless gesture. 

“I know,” Sam replied, squeezing him tighter. “I hope this is the last time, ever.” 

“Me too,” Gabriel said, finally pulling away from Sam and glancing over at the bed.

“You want to get back in bed, or you want to go downstairs and play with Mary some more?” Sam asked him. 

Gabriel wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and seek the peace of sleep...but he knew which one was better for him, so he took a deep breath. “Mary,” he said. “At least for a little while.” 

“Okay.” Sam smiled at him, then tucked him under his arm and walked with him as they started downstairs.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Benny is hereby disallowed from coming up with Plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter last week; hopefully this one makes up for it! It's not all that longer than usual, but there is a goodly amount of Plot in it.

Gabriel hated feeling like a clingy Omega whose Alpha was going away to war in some movie, but he didn’t want to let go of Sam the morning before he was to go to Dean and Cas’ house. Of course, Becky hadn’t shown up when it was just police officers there. Gabriel wondered if Victor and Benny would give him five minutes alone with Becky after they caught her. 

Sam seemed mostly amused by Gabriel’s following him around like a puppy that morning. At least, he seemed to be tolerating it. Eventually, though, he had to start extricating himself from Gabriel’s hold. “I have to do this,” he told Gabriel quietly. “You know I have to, so we can get Sprinkles! opened again.” 

Gabriel groaned. “I know,” he said, pulling Sam’s head down so he could give him one last kiss. “But please, Sam. Promise you’ll be okay?” God, he sounded as if he were straight out of Gone With the Wind. 

Sam kissed him gently, then offered a small smile. “I’ll do everything I can to stay safe,” he promised. “And remember, I was a border guard for years. If she does bring a gun, I know how to deal with it.” He slid a thumb across Gabriel’s cheekbone. “You find something to distract yourself with, okay? Bake a pie for Dean and Cas or something; God knows we owe them for letting us take over their house again.” 

“I’ll try,” Gabriel promised, because he owed it to Sam. “I love you.” He gave his mate one last hug. 

“I love you, too,” Sam told him, before turning and heading out to meet Victor and Benny. Gabriel watched him go, and heaved a sigh. Today was going to be...difficult, to say the least, even though Sam had promised to text him updates as often as he could. 

When he turned around, he found Castiel standing nearby looking sympathetic. Gabriel had been around Cas often enough that he was beginning to wonder if the man was more socially adept than he liked to let on. “He’ll be all right,” Cas told Gabriel. “He’s been trained for this sort of thing.”

Gabriel had a sudden epiphany. “This--is this the way you feel every day with Dean?” he asked. “How do you stand it?”

Cas’ smile was wry. “Sam was a border guard for a while while you were dating,” he pointed out. “You know how it feels.”

“Yeah, but…” Gabriel shook his head. “At least I knew Sam wasn’t going to do that the rest of his life. But Dean doesn’t want to be anything else, does he?”

Cas shook his head. “He likes his job. So, I try to be supportive. It is difficult sometimes, however. Thankfully, Mary is a rather large distraction from such thoughts.” He held out an arm and patted Gabriel’s shoulder. “Shall we go see how she’s doing with your father?”

Gabriel snorted as he turned to walk further into the house with his brother-in-law. “I’m sure he’s spoiling her rotten. He loves having a pup around the house again; I half expect him to ask you all to stay until one of us have pups.” 

“Well, then, let’s go save my daughter before she gets so spoiled she turns into cheese.” Cas smiled as he led Gabriel further into the house. 

.oOOo.

Sam spent most of the morning gossiping with the police officers and being visible in windows. He was able to text Gabriel the good news; both of the Alphas that had been arrested were going to plea-bargain, as they were up against California’s notorious three strikes law. Gabriel wouldn’t have to face either one in a courtroom. 

He smiled at the text Gabriel sent back; he really did need to teach his mate how to use proper punctuation, but Gabriel’s relief was evident in the few short phrases, even if they would make a copy editor cry. 

That afternoon, he got permission to go outside and work on the fence--he figured he owed it to Dean and Cas, plus no one had a chance to approach him if he was inside. “Just remember to look upset,” Victor reminded him as he left the house. He put a scowl on his face--not too hard for him to fake, at that point--and attacked the broken sections of fence with all his pent-up energy. 

He spotted the path he’d chased down Gabriel on when they mated, and smiled--only remembering after a minute or two to replace it with his scowl. He remembered chasing the smell of freshly-baked cinnamon rolls and something _more_ up the trail. He’d been painfully hard, his rut having come on immediately after waking. He’d even cut his lower lip on his fangs, as he hadn’t been able to keep them from descending. 

Sam was still half-lost in the memory when the nondescript car pulled up on the road beside him. An almost painfully thin woman with long, straight, brown hair poked her head out the window. “Ah--excuse me?” she called. “Can you help me? I think I’m lost.” 

Sam set his tools down. It wasn’t until he was halfway to the car that he paused and stiffened, thinking about why he was where he was, but he almost immediately relaxed and laughed at himself. The woman wasn’t Becky, after all. “Hi,” he said, doing his best not to loom once his nose told him that she was an Omega. “Trying to find the highway?”

Up close, however, he realized the woman looked scared. “Are you Sam?” she asked nervously. 

Had Becky hired someone else to kill him? Sam stood there a moment, mouth open, before nodding. “Yeah, look, if someone named Becky--” he started. 

The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “She has my pup, Lucas,” she told Sam. “Please...please get in the car? She said you wouldn’t let him get hurt.” 

Sam grit his teeth. “Ma’am--” he started. 

“Andrea. Andrea Barr. Please. She’s on the phone listening. She’ll hurt him if you tell the police. She knows they’re here.” 

“Fuck. Sorry, Gabriel,” Sam muttered, apologizing to his mate for breaking his promise. “I’m getting in, Becky,” he said a little louder, rounding the car and opening the passenger side door. “I swear, if you hurt her pup…” 

He didn’t receive a reply; instead, Andrea stomped on the gas pedal and peeled away, driving toward the highway. Sam steadied himself on the dashboard, but chose not to put on a seat belt--he was already in hot water with Gabriel, and he wanted to be able to get out of the car in a hurry if he needed to. “Thank you,” Andrea told him. “I’m so sorry, I wouldn’t--but she has Lucas.” 

“It’s all right,” Sam said. He knew the officers would be scrambling to follow them, and at least he still had his bulletproof vest on. “You and Lucas are going to be all right. Right, Becky?” he asked in a warning tone. 

“Sam.” Becky breathed his name like a prayer over a cell phone stuck to the dash. “Of course. I wouldn’t hurt a pup. You know I wouldn’t.” 

Sam wanted to point out that she had tried to hurt and could have _killed_ Gabriel, but immediately thought better of it. “You’re going to let them go when we get wherever we’re going,” he told the phone. His was still in his pocket; he knew the police would be able to track it. “This is about you and me.” 

“They can go,” Becky agreed, almost worrisomely quickly. “Andrea’s been very nice to me.” 

Sam caught Andrea’s eye and made a finger gun while giving her a questioning look. She wiped tears from her face, and nodded. So Becky did have a gun. He considered the best course of action and finally went with something...well, out of a movie. “That’s...that’s good,” he said. “We wouldn’t want them to hear us.” He tried to make the next phrase come out sexy, but all he thought he managed was creaky. “I don’t know about you, but I make a _lot_ of noise.” 

There was a short pause on the other end of the phone. “You...you want to...you’ll mate me?”

He grit his teeth harder, but tried not to let it show. “Yeah. Well. I can’t--” he couldn’t bring himself to say the words about Gabriel, even though they were false. “My bond is gone,” was all he could manage. “I’ll need a new mate.” He looked over at Andrea, and tried to think of how to ask if Becky was alone. Finally, he pointed to the phone, then held up a hand and started putting fingers up. 

The Omega looked thoroughly confused for a little while, and then seemed to get it. She held up one finger, which made Sam feel a little better. If Becky didn’t have anyone with her...well. He could potentially overpower her if he could convince her to put down the gun, and he was fairly certain he could do that. 

Sam’s hope that the police would be able to locate them quickly faded as they took not one, but two shortcuts along dirt roads that cut out across the desert--apparently Becky had done her homework. Andrea slowed a little once they had cut across onto a different highway. Sam felt sorry for her, but he really wished she’d come with him and told the police about Becky and Lucas. 

Speaking of Becky, she spoke again. “I don’t know if I believe you, Sam. But we’ll talk about that when you get here. Give Andrea your phone. Andrea, throw it out the window.” 

Sam winced; he had hoped that Becky wouldn’t remember his phone. Still, he passed it over--it had been vibrating nonstop since they left. Andrea gave him another sympathetic look, but tossed it out of the window. “There. I did it,” she told Becky. 

“Good. Lucas, say hello to Mommy,” Becky said. 

“Hi,” a little voice said, and Sam found his fangs descending, he was so angry with the Omega. 

“Hi, Lucas,” Andrea said, trying to keep her voice even. “Mommy’s going to be home soon, okay?”

“‘Kay,” the little voice said, sounding adorable. And sleepy. “‘Bye, Mommy.” 

“‘Bye, Lucas,” Andrea replied, the strain in her voice evident to Sam. 

“He’ll be okay,” Sam tried to reassure her. 

“He will,” Becky agreed over the phone. “As long as you and Andrea do what I say.” 

“We will,” Sam assured her. 

They fell into a tense silence that wasn’t broken until Andrea pulled up in front of a modest two-story house in a rural area next to another car. The curtains were drawn, but Sam saw them twitch aside briefly. He took a deep breath. “You’re in charge, Becky. What do you want us to do?” he asked. 

“I want Andrea to get out of the car and come to the door,” Becky told them. “Leave the keys in the ignition.” Sam nodded at Andrea, and the woman climbed out of the car and walked over to the door. Once she was there, Becky came out of the house, standing behind her as if she were a human shield. 

“Okay, Sam. I want you to get into the driver’s seat,” Becky instructed. “On the way, I want you to put everything in your pockets on the hood of the car.” 

“Okay,” Sam agreed. He could tell Andrea looked terrified, and figured that Becky was holding a gun on her, out of his sight. He carefully climbed out of the passenger side door, trying to keep his hands visible--at least until he dug into his pockets and brought out his wallet, keys, and some spare change, which he tossed gently onto the hood before rounding the car and climbing into the driver’s seat, setting his hands on the top of the wheel where they were visible. 

Becky said something to Andrea, and the woman looked grateful and immediately disappeared into the house. Sam could see the gun Becky had now; one of those modern things that were found at every army surplus store in the country. She trained it on him, which made him swallow hard, before carefully walking over to the spot where he’d tossed his wallet and keys. She picked up the wallet and looked it over before slipping it into her own pocket. She then walked over and climbed into the passenger seat. 

Becky gave him a big smile. “Hi, Sam!” She sounded as if he’d just picked her up for a date, which made him feel vaguely ill, though he worked to keep the expression off of his face. “Start the car and drive.” 

Sam took a deep breath. “Is Lucas okay?” He’d seen Andrea disappear into the house, and figured she would be fine--it was the boy he wasn’t sure about. 

“Of course, silly.” Becky shook her head. “I know you’d never want me to hurt someone else’s pup, so I didn’t. I even have a license for the gun.” 

_Great,_ Sam thought, but he nodded and started the car. “All right. Where do you want me to go?”

“That way,” Becky indicated with the gun. Sadly, she was holding it steady, not that Sam would want to risk her firing a shot anywhere near Andrea’s house anyway. Once again, Sam nodded, and he put the car into reverse and backed out of the driveway, heading in the direction indicated. 

Sam was bothered more by the gun than he’d expected to be, especially given that he was wearing a bulletproof vest--although he kept forgetting that little detail. In his career as a border patrol, he’d had people point guns at him, but he’d never been the sole target of the gun holders. Somehow, this was much worse than that. 

He let himself take a few deep breaths as Becky directed him to take turns. He recognized the area enough to know that they were soon headed south-ish on a highway. “You know you don’t need that gun, Becky.” 

“How’s your former mate, Sam?” Becky asked him. 

He should have seen the question coming, but he didn’t, and as a result he turned to her and growled, knowing that his eyes were flashing red. Becky gestured with the gun, and he forced himself to wipe the snarl off of his face. “That’s what I thought,” she said, nodding to herself. “You’d never just abandon a former mate; you’re not like that.” 

So much for kissing up to Becky. Sam had to admit, she was smarter than she looked. He put his eyes back on the road, and thought. He could cause an accident, but neither of them were wearing seat belts, so there was no way to know how injured they’d get as a result. “What… what are you going to do?” he asked, letting his sense of helplessness bleed into his voice. 

“We’re going to drive to Mexico and go through a mating ceremony. The United States has to recognize it once we file all of the necessary paperwork, and then we can find a place to live and you can go back to school. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your career.” 

Sam wanted to point out exactly how many legal holes there were in her plan, but chose not to. He didn’t want to upset her, and he definitely didn’t want her to start getting the idea that the only way they could be together is if they were both dead. Instead, he chose to point out a logistical problem. “I don’t have my passport.”

“It’s okay!” Becky trilled. “I had one made for you. Don’t worry, all the information is exactly the same as it is in your other one, so you don’t have to remember anything new.” There was a pause, and then the smile slid off of her face. “If you warn the guard, Sam, I’ll shoot him. Or her. So don’t.” 

Sam had no choice but to nod. 

.oOOo.

“Remember, Sam,” Becky said once they reached the border. “If you say anything to the guard, I’ll shoot him.” She casually tucked the gun into her purse, though she kept it pointing in his direction and kept her hand on top of the purse. 

“I won’t,” Sam said. “But they may decide to search the vehicle anyway; sometimes they do that.” He wasn’t lying; random searches were a thing, though they were rare for US officials allowing US citizens out of the country. 

“They can search the car,” Becky said, shrugging. “Just not my purse. Which they won’t.” Sam thought she was probably right about that; men searching women’s things never really wanted to dive into the hornet’s nest that was a woman’s purse. Luckily, he had a plan; he was so thankful that he was a former border patrol agent, or he’d have no idea what to do. 

They spent a few minutes waiting in line, and then Sam pulled the car up to the agent’s kiosk and put the car in park. He and the agent exchanged basic pleasantries, and he handed over the passports Becky gave him. As the agent was looking them over, Sam casually commented. “Hotter’n Poughkeepsie out here today.” The agent flicked his eyes up to Sam’s, and Sam did his best to remain absolutely calm. 

He felt more than saw Becky give him a weird look, but he willed himself not to react. Meanwhile, he hoped that the border agent would understand. After a pause, the agent nodded. “It is fucking hot out here today, pardon my French. Just a sec; my passport reader is giving me a weird error message. I’m going to go to the next kiosk and run them there. Please stay in the car and keep it in park, Sir, and I’ll be right back.”

“Damn things do that all the time,” Sam replied, nodding. “I worked at the border while I was in college. We’ll stay right here.” 

The agent nodded to him; this time, Sam was sure he could see understanding, albeit confusion, in the agent’s eyes as he let himself out of the back of the kiosk. It was difficult to turn his attention back to Becky, but he managed it. “He’ll be back in a minute,” he told her, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. He wasn’t sure how successful he was.

As the minutes ticked by, Becky started looking more and more suspicious--but just as she opened her mouth to say something, the border patrol agent came back into the kiosk and handed their passports over. “Sorry about that,” he said. “So, where are you all heading?”

Sam glanced at Becky, but she didn’t seem to be about to volunteer information, so he said, “Tijuana. For a mating ceremony.” 

“I’ve heard those can get pretty wild down there,” the agent said. 

“Never been to one before,” Sam replied, glad the mirrors were angled toward him and not Becky as he saw some agents approaching their car. 

“If you would just pull up a few feet, I have to take a quick look in your trunk,” the agent said. Sam nodded, put the car into gear, and drove a few feet--enough that most of the other cars would be outside of most of the agents’ lines of fire. Then he put the car in park again, and took a deep breath. He could see the agents in the mirrors, waiting for the go signal. 

Without thinking about what a terrible idea it was, he opened the car door and dove to the ground. “Gun in her purse!” he exclaimed, as the agents all stood up, pointing their guns--some at him, and some at Becky. He put his hands on his head, ignoring the places where the concrete had scraped off his skin, and went still. 

The agents were all shouting--things along the lines of ‘show me your hands!’ and ‘freeze!’ For the first time, Sam was struck by the inanity of the fact that he was being told to do two completely different things. He knew he was going to be fine, though, as he’d already done both. 

Someone grabbed his wrists and handcuffed him--he wasn’t upset by the gesture; he knew the procedures as well as they did--and he heard them shouting at Becky. A car door opened, and a female voice said, “I’ve got the purse!” A few moments later, it added, “There’s a gun in it.” 

Someone answered her: “She’s secure.” Sam heard his handler say, “He is too.” He was helped, more than pulled, to his feet. “Any other weapons?” someone wanted to know. 

“I don’t know,” Sam replied. “She made me steal the car at gunpoint. I have nothing on me, go ahead and pat me down. There’s nothing that could hurt you.” 

The agent behind him grunted, and turned him around and pushed him against the side of the car. He saw another agent doing the same to Becky, who was glaring daggers at him. She wasn’t fighting, but she wasn’t being particularly cooperative, either. One agent was already sitting in the passenger seat, searching for additional weapons; another had already made Becky’s purse disappear. 

Sam was patted down. “Okay, sir, I’m going to take you to holding now,” the agent told him. “While we try to sort this out. I’m noting that you have no wallet or cell phone in your pockets.” 

“Thanks,” Sam said, as it could only help him. He was shaking now; the adrenaline had kicked in with no place to go. “Could you also please call the Los Angeles police department, precinct 8, and let them know that you apprehended Becky Rosen and Sam Winchester at the border? They’ll know what this is all about.”

“Hold on a moment.” The agent who’d been in the kiosk came over and asked Sam to repeat that; he wrote it down. “I’ll make the call,” he told the agent holding Sam. “I couldn’t believe it when you said Poughkeepsie,” he said to Sam as he jotted down notes. 

“I’m just so glad you knew the code,” Sam said. “I didn’t know if they used it at every station.” 

“I think they do,” the original agent said, nodding. “I just never expected to hear it from someone trying to go through the border.” It was a code word border patrol agents used to let other agents know that you had a seriously FUBARed situation when other people were listening. Sam was so glad he’d remembered it--and that it hadn’t changed, and that it was used at this crossing, too. Now that he thought about it, his plan really wasn’t that good, and he was lucky it had worked.

“Okay. Come on,” the agent holding him said, and Sam nodded and allowed the officer to walk him to a temporary holding facility. He sat in a chair and tried to take deep breaths, nodding when the agent informed him that he was being recorded. 

“I’m Sam Winchester, and I know my rights and temporarily waive my right to an attorney at this time,” he said, once the agent had informed him of his rights and switched the cuffs so they were in front of him. He knew it would be better to contact an attorney just in case it turned into Becky’s word vs. his, but at the same time, he hadn’t done anything wrong, and he was fairly certain that he wouldn’t face any charges once all the facts were known. 

“Okay. If you’re who you say you are, you know the drill as well as I do--it’ll take probably half an hour for us to have someone ready to question you,” the agent told him. “If you need anything, yell; in the meantime, I’ll get you some coffee.” 

“Thanks,” Sam replied gratefully, and braced himself for a long wait, followed by questioning, likely followed by a wait, likely followed by additional questioning...well. He knew he’d probably be here the rest of the day, if not longer. 

He was right, but eventually, the cuffs were removed, and he was allowed to borrow an agent’s cell phone. He’d already spoken with Detective Henrickson on an official phone. Victor was understandably upset with him but also glad that he was alive, unhurt, and still in the United States. Now he had to make the more difficult call--to Gabriel. 

His mate picked up at the beginning of the second ring. “Sam! What happened? Why haven’t you texted me? Are you okay? Do they have Becky?” 

Sam was momentarily surprised, but then realized that Gabriel didn’t know _any_ of what had happened. He took a deep breath. “I’m all right,” he said, “and Becky’s in custody.” 

“All right? Why do you have to say you’re all right? What happened, Sam?” Gabriel sounded more than a touch frantic, and Sam thought he heard Garth in the background. 

“Um,” Sam said eloquently. This was turning out to be harder than he expected. “Well...so, you’re going to be mad at me, but I had to do it, Gabe.” 

“HAD TO DO WHAT?” Gabriel demanded. 

“Becky was holding a woman’s pup hostage!” Sam protested. “She had a gun! But no one got shot!” he added hastily, when he heard Gabriel suck in a breath. “We just had to do what she said!”

“What? What did you do, Sam?!” 

“I had to go with her! We stole a car and drove to the border--”

“YOU WHAT?!?”

“Gabriel, it’s okay, we didn’t get across! The agents took Becky into custody!”

Sam could hear Gabriel growling loudly, and was suddenly glad he was two hours away from him “You got. All the way. To the border. Somehow,” Gabriel clarified. 

“Yeah, but I gave the agent a code word so he’d know something was wrong, and then--”

“Are you hurt?” Gabriel demanded. 

“Um. Just some, um, scrapes,” Sam replied, looking down at himself. “Like I said, she never fired the gun.” 

“I don’t care if Detective Lafitte _is_ an Alpha, I’m going to tear him apart with my bare hands the next time I see him! This was a stupid idea, and then he didn’t even protect you so you ended up trying to cross the border with Becky!?!”

“Gabe--”

“Don’t you _Gabe_ me! I’m not speaking to you until you get home, and maybe not even then!” Gabriel hung up on him. Sam looked at the phone and sighed, while the agent he’d borrowed the phone from laughed uproariously at his predicament. It was going to be a long ride home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry. Gabriel's not really /that/ mad at Sam. He just thinks he is.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Extra special BONUS WEEKEND SMUT CHAPTER! Brought to you by grading exams.   
AKA, do not ever anger Gabriel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fills the square, 'Orgasm Denial' for the 2020 SPN Kink Bingo.

In the end, Detective Lafitte was the one who had to come pick Sam up at the border, since he’d been the one to come up with the disastrous plan. He brought along Sam’s phone, which they’d found (and was surprisingly only a little cracked), and then drove him back to L.A. once they’d picked up his wallet. An officer had already driven Sam’s car from Dean and Cas’ house back to Naomi and Chuck’s (apparently, it paid to be related to rich people). 

Sam couldn’t really bring himself to be mad at the other Alpha; Benny was apologetic, and frankly, too nice about the entire thing. He even stopped at a pharmacy and bought Sam bandages and ointment for his scrapes, plus painkillers, and treated Sam to dinner at a diner on the way back.

It turned out that Benny had been to college and majored in criminal justice, so the two ended up with lots to talk about as Benny drove. They even placed a (small) wager on who would eventually win custody of Becky--the Feds, or the LAPD (Sam was certain it would be the Feds; Benny likely felt he had to stick up for his department). 

Sam felt a lot better now that he knew that she was locked up, and would be for the foreseeable future. He would do everything he could to make sure she went to a mental institution instead of prison, but beyond that, he didn’t really care what happened to her. He just felt like he could finally relax after months of harassment. In fact, if Benny hadn’t been such an engaging travelling companion, he probably would’ve fallen asleep on the way back. 

“You don’t have to come in,” Sam said once they pulled up to the door of Gabriel’s parent’s place. “I’m pretty sure Gabriel wants to at least read you the riot act if not flat-out hit you.” 

“Nah,” Benny replied, stepping out of the car and stretching. “I deserve it, an’ anyway it’ll give him someone to take it all out on ‘sides you. Anyway, that cute little ‘Mega of yours can’t hurt me.” 

“You’d be surprised,” Sam told him, but shrugged as he got out. It was, after all, Benny’s funeral, and he would feel slightly better walking into the house with police protection--after all, his brother was there in addition to his mate, and Dean couldn’t be any happier about his decisions today. 

Sam let Benny into the house, and they were immediately surrounded by friends and family. Dean made it to Sam first, and gave him a bear hug that had him fearing for his ribs. “Don’t _ever_ do that again, Sammy,” Dean growled in his ear. 

“I won’t,” Sam promised, even though he knew he’d do exactly the same thing if he’d had to do it all over again. Right now, Dean just needed to hear he was safe. “Oh shit--” he added, as he spotted Gabriel coming around the corner, looking livid. 

“YOU!” Despite a heroic effort by Chuck to try to stop him, Gabriel launched himself across the foyer at Benny, landing a solid punch on his ribs. Benny grunted, but didn’t seem particularly fazed. “Stay right there!” Gabriel yelled at the taller man, and then he turned and stalked off. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Chuck said, making his way over to Benny. “Are you all right?”

Benny just laughed. “‘M fine, and now it’s outta his system,” he assured the Omega patriarch. “No harm done.” 

“Damn, Sammy,” Dean commented, releasing his brother. “You’d better watch out, that was a mean right hook, and he’s just as mad at you. You want a jock strap?”

Sam’s answer was a slight punch to Dean’s shoulder. “Fuck you,” he told his brother. 

“Nah, that’s Gabriel’s job,” Dean shot back. “And I don’t think he’ll be in the mood any time soon, so you might as well take the cup.” 

Sam started to reply, but Gabriel reappeared, holding a paper bag that looked a bit greasy but smelled amazing. “Beignets!” he shouted, shoving the bag at Benny’s chest. “But don’t think I’ll stock them at Sprinkles! if they don’t sell well!” 

Benny, bemused, took the bag and raised an eyebrow before peeking into it. Meanwhile, Gabriel rounded on Sam. Dean took a step back. _Thanks,_ Sam thought at him. “Gabriel, I--”

“Shut up,” Gabriel snapped. He was quivering with anger. “I don’t want to hear anything from you, do you understand?”

_That’s not how the silent treatment works, _ Sam thought, but decided to keep the idea to himself. Instead, he nodded. “I’m furious with you, going off with some random Omega and ending up with Becky!” Gabriel said, poking at his chest with a finger. 

“Dear Lord in Heaven,” Benny commented, having tried one of the beignets. 

“You are on the couch tonight, mister!” Gabriel continued as if Benny hadn’t said a word. “I don’t want to see hide or hair of you upstairs! Good-night!” He whirled around again, and headed for the stairs, growling to himself all the way. 

They all watched his melodramatic exit, which was broken by a mildly pornographic noise made by Benny. He was apparently enjoying his food. Once Gabriel had disappeared, Chuck shook his head. “You can sleep in one of the downstairs rooms, Sam,” he said. “Don’t worry, he’s just angry; he’ll get over it.” He stepped forward and hugged Sam. “I’m glad you’re safe, and he is too, even if he can’t bring himself to admit it quite yet.” 

“Thanks,” Sam said, returning the hug. He’d learned that Chuck was very tactile, and had long ago decided to roll with it, since Naomi didn’t seem to mind. 

Benny left, promising to call tomorrow with any news, and the rest of them made their way to their bedrooms--it was late. Sam made his way to the downstairs bedroom where he’d first had sex with Gabriel during the heat he’d accidentally induced by turning out to be his true mate. He sighed when he flicked the light on; the room looked awfully different without Gabriel in it. He was absolutely exhausted, though, so after he took a quick shower (so much for his bandages, but the scrapes were already starting to heal), he undressed down to his boxers, climbed into bed, and passed out. 

.oOOo.

Gabriel woke with a start in the middle of the night. After a moment’s panic, he realized he was in his childhood bedroom, and he reached for Sam. Only to find the bed next to him empty and cold. What the-- Oh, right. He’d decided to be a Melodramatic Bitch™ and make Sam sleep on the couch. Suddenly, that didn’t seem like such a good idea. 

He thunked his head back down on the pillow, and sighed. Which was more important, his craving for his mate, or his pride? Stupid rhetorical questions. He climbed out of bed, put on a bathrobe, and went in search of Sam. 

.oOOo.

Sam was dreaming. In it, Becky was licking him, and he couldn’t stop her. He tried to roll over, but found himself pinned; he tried to shout, and found he couldn’t speak--something nasty-tasting was in his mouth, stopping him. 

After a minute or two of torture, Sam woke up, only to find that there really _was_ something weird-tasting in his mouth, and someone _was_ sitting on his chest, arm in hand, licking it. “Mmmpgh?” he tried to question. 

Gabriel reached down and set a finger across his lips, which...was Sam gagged with something? It was...fuzzy, whatever it was. “I’m still too mad to listen,” Gabriel told him haughtily, “so I’ve gagged you. Is it okay?” he asked, in a slightly more solicitous tone. 

Sam took stock of himself, and then nodded. Whatever it was tasted weird, but not as if it would hurt him. “Good,” Gabriel said, nodding. “Now. First, I’m going to lick all these scrapes. Then, assuming you don’t have any objections, I’m going to tie you up, spank your ass until it glows, and then fuck you, Alpha. After that, if you’re really lucky, I _might_ forgive you and let you come. How does that sound?”

Sam took it for the question it really was, and considered it. He’d never play rough with Gabriel if he was angry, but there was a much greater chance of him accidentally hurting Gabriel than vice-versa. After a moment, he nodded--maybe Benny was right and it was best to let the Omega get it out of his system. 

Gabriel grinned down at him. “Good Alpha,” he said, before picking up Sam’s arm to lick it again. 

Sam almost fell back asleep as Gabriel carefully licked over each of his scrapes--most of them were on his knees, but he had a few on his arms as well. Despite the gag, it was soothing, not arousing. He did realize what was probably in his mouth; Gabriel was naked other than an open bathrobe that was missing a tie. 

Eventually, however, Gabriel finished, and showed Sam his teeth. “Stay right there.” He hopped off the bed and left the room; Sam did as instructed. 

When Gabriel returned in a few minutes, he held up a cock ring. “So you don’t have any accidents,” he explained. He jumped onto the bed, and then went about pulling Sam’s boxers down. Sam lifted his hips to help, and allowed Gabriel to put the ring on him after lubing him up. “Roll over,” Gabriel instructed, and Sam did so. He let Gabriel coax him onto his knees and then felt him tie his hands with the ends of whatever was gagging him. Gabriel didn’t tie it very tightly; Sam could probably wriggle his way out of the bonds if he wanted to. 

“Nod your head if that’s okay,” Gabriel said, and Sam nodded. “Okay, now snap your fingers.” Sam did so. “If you want out or anything doesn’t feel right, especially that ring, snap your fingers and I’ll stop and untie you,” Gabriel told him, running his hands down his arms. “Got it?” Sam nodded. 

“Good,” Gabriel growled, and pushed Sam’s shoulders forward until his chest was against the bed, but his ass was up in the air. “Still okay?” Sam nodded, and then yelped into the gag as Gabriel brought his hand down on his ass. He was surprised; Gabriel usually ‘spanked’ him lightly, but apparently today the Omega wasn’t pulling his proverbial punches. He felt Gabriel’s hand ease over the spot where he’d been hit. “I think one for every ten minutes you didn’t text me is about right,” he heard Gabriel mutter. 

Sam winced. He was going to be sore tomorrow if Gabriel kept this up--ow! He cried out into the gag again. Yup. He was going to be sore tomorrow. He wasn’t much of a subspace user, but he definitely went somewhere as Gabriel continued to spank him. He didn’t even realize the Omega had stopped until he felt Gabriel’s hands on his face--Gabriel was wiping the tears away, and pushing his hair out of his face. “Sam? Are you all right?” Once again, Sam took stock of himself. His ass was on fire, but other than that, he was fine, so he nodded. “You want to keep going?” Gabriel asked. 

That made Sam pause a moment--did he? Spanking wasn’t much of a turn-on for him, but he knew Gabriel liked it. Plus, the pain was already fading. He nodded. “Okay.” Gabriel kissed him on the cheek and then crawled back behind him. “This next part’ll feel good, I promise.” He then groaned. “You should see your ass, Sam. It looks like a damned tomato.” Sam hissed into the gag as Gabriel slid a reverent hand over one of the hemispheres. 

The hand disappeared, and he heard the telltale ‘snick’ of a lube bottle opening. “I could use my own slick,” Gabriel mused, “but I don’t know if it would be enough, and I’m done hurting you tonight.” Sam felt a couple of lubed fingers press against his entrance, and this time he moaned into the gag as the pads of Gabriel’s fingers circled his rim. 

Sam felt Gabriel push in a finger, and he felt himself start to get properly hard--although the cock ring had taken care of the beginning of that long ago. It had been a while since he’d bottomed, and he felt a slight burning stretch as Gabriel slid his finger in and out. Gabriel spread lube everywhere, and then inserted a couple of fingers. 

He found Sam’s prostate straight away, and Sam found himself rapidly losing the ability to think as he shouted into his gag. Gabriel played with it until Sam started writhing, and then he began to focus on stretching him open. He wasted little time, soon inserting a third finger. “That’s my Alpha,” Gabriel cooed. “You like having my fingers and my cock up your ass, don’t you?” Sam nodded, willing to agree to anything that involved additional stimulation at this point. 

The fingers disappeared, but Sam barely had time to voice a protest into the gag before he felt Gabriel grab his hips and start pushing into him. He let himself groan into the gag--one of the nice things about it was that _he_ wasn’t going to be the one waking Gabriel’s parents up, at least. 

“Fuck, Sam. Feel so good,” Gabriel gasped from behind him as he sheathed himself fully. “Look so hot like this. Still okay?” Sam nodded again, and Gabriel grunted and began thrusting. Sam pushed back, meeting him thrust for thrust. He wiggled his shoulders, but was unable to get any extra leverage there. His dick was so hard he was sure he could cut diamond with it, thanks to the ring. 

The spanking had apparently wound Gabriel up more than he had thought, or maybe he just wasn’t holding back--in any case, it was only a few minutes before Sam heard Gabriel grit his teeth and groan and felt warm liquid shoot inside him. While Sam was hard, he was also a long way from close--the ring had prevented that, and he couldn’t help but let out a little disappointed groan. 

Gabriel collapsed onto his back, panting. After a few minutes, he pushed himself back up and pulled out of Sam, causing the Alpha to whimper. Gabriel chuckled, but reached behind Sam and untied his hands, then helped him lay down flat and gave him an impromptu shoulder massage. “That was so good, Sam.” Sam couldn’t really agree, but he was still gagged so didn’t get to have an opinion anyway. The massage felt nice, though he found himself bucking his hips to try to find some friction. 

He eventually felt Gabriel pull away. “Roll over,” Gabriel instructed. Sam did, and moaned as Gabriel proceeded to work the ring off. He’d thought he’d leave it on, but they were probably pushing the time limit as it was, so Sam didn’t complain. Not that he could have, given the gag. 

Gabriel leaned down and licked the pre-come from his slit, and Sam moaned again, bucking his hips up into Gabriel’s mouth. Gabriel pulled off, and licked his lips. “Like that, Alpha?” He waited until Sam nodded. “Well, I think that’s the last thing you’re going to like tonight,” he said, sitting up and crossing his arms. “Because now you’re going to find out what it’s like when _your mate doesn’t follow through on their promises_.” He leveled a glare at Sam. “You’ve got two choices. One, suffer, and I’ll probably think you’ve had enough and be willing to talk to you in the morning. Two, go jerk off in the bathroom, but I won’t speak to you for a week. Either way, I’m going to take the gag off, but I don’t want you saying a word until I speak to you first. Capische?”

Sam growled a few curses into the gag, glared at Gabriel, and threw his head back onto a pillow, glaring up at the ceiling. This wasn’t fair! ...Of course, what he’d done to Gabriel wasn’t fair either. He sighed, realizing that he probably deserved this, and nodded his assent. “Good boy.” Gabriel leaned forward and removed the gag, which indeed turned out to be the tie for his bathrobe. Sam spit it out gladly, watching as Gabriel climbed off of him and laid down next to him. 

Sam considered his options, but already knew what he was going to do. He sighed, but drew the sheets and covers up over the both of them and put his arms around Gabriel. He wouldn’t be sleeping tonight, but at least he’d be out of the doghouse come morning. Hopefully. 

.oOOo.

Sam had a rather...restless night, and then woke up early to boot. He stared up at the ceiling for a little while, listening to Gabriel’s whistling snores, before deciding he might as well go for a run. He carefully disentangled himself from the Omega, located his clothes, and put them back on before heading upstairs to change into running shorts. 

He stayed on the Shurley’s property; while he knew he was safe from Becky now, he didn’t exactly want to push his luck. Besides, their property was huge. He was a little sore from his dive onto concrete the day before, but he worked out the stiffness as he ran. 

Sam ran until he felt endorphins flood his system--take _that,_ Gabriel--and then headed back into the house, where it seemed that everyone was still asleep. He made it to the room where they’d slept silently, intending to shower, but as soon as he entered the room, he managed to catch the wastebasket with a toe and sent it clattering across the room. 

Gabriel sat up and peered at him blearily. “Sam?” he mumbled. 

“Yeah, sorry, Gabe, go back to sleep. Just me being clumsy.” Sam had forgotten the no speaking rule. 

So had Gabriel, apparently. “You went for a run?”

“Yeah. I stayed on the property,” Sam assured him, walking over to the bed before bending down to kiss his mate’s forehead. “Everything’s all right. Everyone’s safe. Go back to bed; I’m just going to take a quick shower.” 

Sam assumed that that was the end of the conversation as he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. A few minutes later, however, Gabriel walked into the bathroom and stood looking at him with an odd expression on his face. With a sigh, Sam switched off the water and stepped out, grabbing a towel. 

“What happened?” Gabriel asked in a soft voice, very unlike the one he’d used last night. 

Sam told the story as he dried himself off. He downplayed the fact that Becky had a gun trained on him most of the time and exactly how hairy things had gotten at the border, but otherwise gave an accurate accounting of the day before. 

“Wow,” Gabriel said when he was finished. He stepped over to hug Sam. “That’s...wow.” He sighed. “I was a real dick last night, wasn’t I?”

Sam hugged him back. “A little,” he admitted. “But I deserved it. And...it was kinda hot.”

“No you didn’t deserve it. You didn’t really have a choice about anything.” Gabriel stepped back, but grabbed his hand and pulled Sam toward the bedroom. “Do you accept apologies in the form of blowjobs?” 

Sam couldn’t help but grin. “I suppose, just this once,” he replied, letting his Omega lead him into the bedroom for his apology.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a whole lot of loose plot threads are grabbed and forced back into the Matrix again.

Sam and Gabriel took their things back to their apartment that morning, and then tackled Sprinkles! in the afternoon. Sam wasn’t sure how Gabriel would react to company, so he decided it would be just the two of them for now. He watched as Gabriel went over to the cookie dough he’d been making and made a face--it had grown mold while they were away. “This’ll have to go,” Gabriel noted, but he didn’t make an effort to do anything about it. 

Instead, he began walking toward the front. Sam could tell he was upset, but was trying to be brave, so he trailed the Omega by a few steps as Gabriel went into the front. He heard him taking deep breaths as he looked around the storefront, so he stepped up beside him and rubbed at his back. “It’s all right,” he whispered. “I’m right here; nothing’s going to happen.” 

Gabriel hiccuped. “Is there a law against an Omega chaining an Alpha to them so they never have to be without?” he asked. 

Sam chuckled. “Probably. You all right?” 

“Yeah...hey, look!” Gabriel stepped forward to the counter, where his dart gun was laying. Someone had left a note underneath it: ‘All filled back up. Nice shooting! Thx for the bread, now I don’t have to pick it up on the way home!’ Next to it was a coffee cup with money stuffed in it and a note beside it. ‘Had a whip-round for what we took home. Sorry it’s not much. Cleaned up as best we could; hope you feel better soon.’

“Awww,” Sam said. “That was really nice of them.” 

Gabriel picked up the gun and checked it--sure enough, they’d replaced the darts he’d used. He cradled it for a moment before putting it back in its usual spot below the register--though, after a moment, he picked it back up and put it on a shelf behind them. “I had to step away from the register,” he explained, his voice thick with emotion. “Makes more sense for it to be back here, where you can reach it if you have to back away.” 

Sam nodded. “Good idea.” He hugged Gabriel, and then led him around the counter; Sam knew he’d have the most trouble out front, and sure enough, he started shaking when they’d arrived. “Deep breaths. Count with me,” Sam said, helping calm Gabriel as they looked around. The police had straightened chairs and tables, and someone had actually finished the mopping job that Jack had started. The mop and bucket were leaning neatly against the wall near the restrooms. 

It took a few minutes, but Gabriel eventually stopped shivering. Sam gave him another hug, then asked, “How do you want to do this? I do the front and you do the back? Or both together?”

Gabriel tapped a finger against his lips as he considered the question. “Both together, front first,” he said finally. “We’ll throw out what’s left, then bleach everything. Maybe...um, could you check the men’s room? Jack was in there, and…” 

Sam nodded. “You start throwing things away,” he instructed as he released Gabriel. “I’ll see if there’s a mess to clean up.” 

“I’ll make coffee for us first,” Gabriel said. He sounded determined as he disappeared into the back. 

Sam opened the restroom door and found that there was, indeed, a mess. He couldn’t really blame Jack--he remembered his first rut and the mess he’d made of the bathroom and his room. After strategizing for a moment or two, he left and went into the back to get cleaning supplies, passing Gabriel at the sink cleaning out the coffee pot. He stopped to give his mate a kiss on the cheek. 

He was about halfway finished with the bathroom when he heard a knock on the outside door of the bakery; he hurried out to see who it was, but Gabriel was already walking to the door. A familiar head of red hair was outside, so Sam wasn’t surprised when Gabriel unlocked the door and let Charlie in. 

“Ohmygod are you okay? What happened? There was police tape and police and then it just said closed and I was so worried!” she exclaimed in a rush, gathering Gabriel into a giant hug. 

Sam watched Gabriel hug her back. “We’re all right,” he told her. “Gabriel had a nasty scare thanks to my stalker, but the police have her now.” 

Charlie pulled Sam into the three-way hug. “Thank goodness! We were all so worried!” She finally released Gabriel. “Do you all need help? What happened?”

Gabriel seemed a bit overwhelmed, so Sam set a hand on his back and briefly explained what had taken place. Charlie ended up hugging Gabriel several additional times during the story, and they were joined after a few minutes by her friend Kevin, who was also an Omega and also had to hug Gabriel. Eventually, the story was told and they were both given coffee and assured that Sam and Gabriel didn’t need any help right now. Kevin seemed to pick up on Gabriel’s mood better than Charlie had, and was the one that ultimately steered Charlie out of the shop, promising to come back once they opened again. 

Once they had left, Sam locked the door and went back to cleaning the restroom, while Gabriel continued sanitizing the display cases. Sam eventually joined him, and then they went back into the back, where Gabriel scraped the half-made moldy dough into a garbage can and put the mixing bowl into the high-heat washer. Sam checked the fridge, and threw away items that had spoiled--mostly the milk, but there were also overripe berries and some questionable cream. 

Once they’d done all of that, he turned to Gabriel. “What do you think? Do you want to try to open tomorrow, or do you want to wait another day?”

Gabriel looked around, and sighed. “We should open tomorrow with a limited selection,” he said. “Which...you should call Kelly. I’m going to need her help. I don’t think...I can’t talk to Jack right now. Is that awful?” he asked, his face scrunched in thought. Sam found it adorable.

“No, it’s not,” Sam reassured him, shaking his head. “It’s perfectly normal, and I’m sure they’ll understand. We should probably have you meet Jack for the first time somewhere else, so you’re not dealing with both him and the memories of what happened here.” 

Gabriel nodded gratefully. “Then I’ll start baking,” he said. “Can you make a list of the stuff we need to buy and put everything in the computer? Oh, and can you bring out a bag of flour first?”

“Sure,” Sam agreed. Gabriel nodded as he began to collect ingredients; Sam fetched a couple of heavy bags for him before pulling out his phone to call Kelly. He’d texted her to let her know they’d caught Becky earlier that day. 

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hi, Kelly, it’s Sam. We’re cleaning up Sprinkles!, and were wondering if you could come in now. Gabriel wants to open tomorrow with a limited selection. He and I could do first shift tomorrow, if you and Jack wanted to take the second?”

“Sure. I can come down, and Jack and I can do second shift tomorrow. How is he?” Kelly wanted to know. 

“He’s all right,” Sam said, glancing over at Gabriel, who was busy baking. “A bit shaken still, being back here, but all right. He’s not really up for meeting Jack right now, but maybe we can do that tomorrow when we switch shifts?” 

“Sure, that’s fine. Jack really does want to apologize to Gabriel,” Kelly said, “But I’ve told him this sort of thing takes time and he needs to wait for Gabriel to be ready for him to apologize.”

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, nodding even though she couldn’t see him. “We have to take it one step at a time.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll be down there in a few minutes,” Kelly said. 

“All right. See you soon,” Sam told her before hanging up. “She’ll be here in a few minutes,” he told Gabriel. His mate nodded, flashing him a quick smile before returning to his creations. 

.oOOo.

A few hours later, Sam had reluctantly (Gabriel had finally threatened him with another sleepless night) gone to purchase the items they needed, so Kelly and Gabriel were alone and elbow-deep in flour. Neither had said much to the other so far, beyond basic greetings, but Kelly wasn’t making it awkward, and Gabriel was glad of it. 

“Did I ever tell you about how I had Jack?” Kelly asked, glancing up at him. 

“No,” Gabriel said, shaking his head. “I figured you didn’t want to talk about it.”

“I normally don’t,” Kelly admitted. “But I want you to know that you’re not the only one who’s been through some crap.” 

Gabriel made a face. “Kelly, really, you don’t have to tell me--”

She shook her head. “It wasn’t rape,” she started, “but I was young and stupid. I actually believed him when he said that I couldn’t get pregnant my first time.” 

Gabriel groaned in sympathy, and she nodded in agreement as she poured ingredients into a mixer. “Once he found out I was pregnant...well. His parents transferred him to a different school the next day, then bullied me and my parents into signing papers that absolved him of any responsibility if I had the baby.” 

“I’m sorry,” Gabriel said, frowning as he cut shaped cookies out of dough. “Is that even legal?”

“It was back then in Oklahoma,” Kelly replied with a shrug. “Anyhow, it doesn’t matter. He wasn’t father material; in fact, he’s in prison for something totally unrelated now. My parents helped me with Jack until I was old enough, and I wouldn’t do anything different if I had to do it all over again. Having Jack made it all worthwhile. I’m not going to say that everything happens for a reason or anything hokey like that, just…” She took a deep breath, and sighed. “Life gets better, and bad things… you forget about them, eventually, and can focus on the good things again.” 

Gabriel smiled at her, and walked over to give her an awkward, floury hug. “Thanks,” he said. “For everything. For all the work you put into this place. For being okay with me not being okay right away with Jack.” 

“You’re very welcome. You take all the time you need,” she said, sniffing and wiping away a tear on her shoulder so she didn’t have to re-wash her hands. “Thank you for being willing to have us back at all; this job means a lot to both of us.” 

“Well, when Sprinkles! turns into a chain, I’ll make sure you and Jack have the first crack at shares _and_ charge of the first satellite building,” he joked--although he half meant it; if he ever became that successful, he very much meant to make sure that Kelly and Jack were taken care of, and he knew Sam would feel the same way. 

Kelly laughed. “Let’s just get this dough rising first, and then we can worry about the future.” 

“Good plan,” Gabriel agreed, moving back to his station to continue his work. 

.oOOo.

It seemed as if the whole world visited Sprinkles! the next day. Charlie and Kevin and their friends were there, of course. Castiel came and brought Mary, who demanded hugs and cookies. Chuck came to write and brought along some of his fans; he ended up babysitting Mary while Cas ran to the store to get more diapers at one point. 

Benny and Victor came in late in Gabriel’s and Sam’s shift. Sam called Gabriel out of the back so they could all talk, and poured the detectives coffee in the meantime (there was a new sign that said ‘Free coffee for police, firefighters, veterans, active military, and teachers’ by the machine). 

“Good to see you two’ve made up,” Benny commented, after Gabriel arrived and tucked himself under Sam’s arm. 

“Yeah, we...just had to get to the point where we could use our words,” Sam replied, grinning down at Gabriel, who stuck his tongue out at him. “So...what’s up, guys?”

“Well, for now, Becky’s still in federal custody,” Victor told them. “She’s found a lawyer, who spent about five minutes with her and decided to hire about three psychologists on the spot.” 

“Not surprising,” Sam replied. 

“Nah, but ‘s still a good sign,” Benny rumbled, looking over their display cases--which were much emptier than usual, given both the number of customers today as well as the relative lack of preparation Gabriel and Kelly had had the previous day. “Lawyer knows if she doesn’t do a mental plea, she’s got no defense at all for any of the charges.” 

“Harvey and Dent--that’s their street names; don’t ask what their real names are, you don’t want to know--are both up against the three strikes law; their lawyers are going to take any deal the prosecution offers,” Victor continued, nodding at his partner. “They both instantly picked Becky out of a lineup as the woman who hired them.” 

Gabriel snorted at the names, and produced a paper bag from under the counter and slid it toward Benny. “Saved these for you both,” he said. “The doughnuts went quick this morning; you’ll be happy to know that the beignets sold out too. Soo...you think there won’t be a trial? Or will there be?”

“Assuming the prosecution’s psychologists think the same as everyone else, there will probably just be a hearing,” Victor said, as Benny investigated the bag, grinned, and handed Gabriel some money. Gabriel made change, but Benny just put it in the tip jar. “On whether or not Becky’s fit to stand trial. Both of you will probably have to speak at it. After that, it depends on what the judge thinks, but I suspect she’ll be sent to an institution.” 

“That makes sense,” Sam commented. “We’re happy to do whatever you need us to do.” 

“Happy is an exaggeration,” Gabriel said, lightly elbowing Sam in the side but softening his remark with a smile. “But we’ll do whatever we have to. Always glad to help the boys in blue, as often as they’ve saved my ass now.” 

“Can’t thank you both enough for bein’ so cooperative through this whole thing,” Benny remarked. “Not ta mention the free stuff. We wanted ta let you know we’re gonna increase patrols in the area in the evenings for the next couple of weeks just ta be sure. We’re also gonna ask that you cater our meetings--it ain’t much, just some donuts once a week or so, but everyone agreed we should switch places. Someone’s gonna fill out your online form, so look for that soon.” 

“We will,” Gabriel replied, still smiling. “We appreciate any and all business, no matter how small or how large.” 

“We do,” Sam agreed. “And we appreciate you keeping us informed about what’s going on. Just...do me a favor and _promise_ that Becky’s not somehow going to get out of custody?” 

Victor laughed. “After the shit--er, sorry--after what she pulled? No way the Feds are letting her out.” 

“I know,” Sam said, shaking his head, “but after everything she did...I can’t help just expecting her to suddenly show up again somehow.” 

“Well, she won’t,” Victor assured him. “After everything she did, any judge worth his salt will make sure she’s locked up a good long while, whether it’s in an institution or a prison.” 

“Let’s hope we have a judge worth his salt, then,” Gabriel quipped, and they all laughed. “Thank you both for coming in, but I really have to get back to baking now.” 

“You’re welcome. Thanks for the food,” Victor replied, waving as he and Detective Lafitte turned to leave. 

“What did you put in there for him?” Sam sounded curious. “I know you gave Benny beignets again.”

“An apple fritter. Everyone loves apple fritters,” Gabriel said, winking at Sam before heading into the back. “And they have apple in them, so they’re healthy,” he called over his shoulder. 

“One of these days we’re going to have a talk about your definition of the word ‘healthy,’” Sam called after him, but he was chuckling as he did. 

.oOOo.

Jack and Kelly arrived a few minutes before their shift started, both giving Sam nervous looks. He considered calling Gabriel out right away, but instead waved them over and gave Kelly a hug. 

“Mr. Winchester, I’m so sorry,” Jack blurted out almost immediately. 

“Jack--it’s okay. I know what rut’s like--” Sam started, but Jack wasn’t about to be cut off. 

“I know you don’t own Gabriel or anything, but I know how upset you’d be if he was hurt, and I...I almost hurt him,” Jack said, wide-eyed. “I am so, so sorry. I would _never_ have done it if I hadn’t been feral.” 

“Jack,” Sam said gently, “It’s all right. Nothing happened, aside from you giving Gabriel a good scare. And I know you would never, ever do anything to hurt him when you were in your right mind.” He stepped forward to hug Jack. “I forgave you long ago, and he’s forgiven you too--it will just take some time for him to get used to you again before he doesn’t startle every time he sees you.” 

“That’s what Mom says,” Jack said, stepping back and hanging his head. “But I still feel awful.” 

“Everyone makes mistakes, Jack,” Sam replied with a shrug, keeping a hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “Sometimes all you can do is apologize and do your best never to make that mistake again.” 

“Now that I’ve presented, I can go on suppressants, so I don’t have to go through that any more,” Jack said quickly. 

“Eh, don’t be too afraid of rut,” Sam said. “Remember, you’re not going to go feral again. And...well, most of us don’t spend our ruts in a police tank,” he teased lightly. 

Jack went red. “That was _so_ embarrassing,” he admitted. “I mean, they were really nice about it all, but I still felt awful.” 

“Just be glad you had come to your senses so they didn’t have to tranq you. Those things give you the worst headaches--they tranq’ed us as part of our border patrol training, and I swear I had a headache for a week,” Sam told him. 

“Ugh,” Jack replied, although he looked as if he very much wished he could have spent his entire rut passed out. “Um. May I speak with Mr. Gabriel?”

“Sure. He knows you’re coming, let me just go in first to let him know,” Sam said. “Kelly, can you take over the till for a minute?”

“Of course, no problem,” Kelly told Sam, stepping into position. 

Sam ducked through the swinging door. “Hey, Babe,” he said, walking over to where Gabriel was standing, waiting to take cookies out of the oven. It smelled amazing in the back; it always did. Still, Sam bent down and scented Gabriel before pressing a kiss to his neck. “Jack and Kelly are here. Jack wants to come back and talk with you. Is that okay?”

Gabriel glanced up, frowned, but then nodded. “Yeah, I guess I have to at some point, huh? Just let me get these out,” he said, opening the oven door and pulling out a sheet of freshly-baked oatmeal cookies. 

“Okay, I’ll get him,” Sam told Gabriel, heading back out to the front. He gave Jack a smile and clapped him on the shoulder. “C’mon back,” he said kindly. He walked with the boy--man--into the back, where they stopped well away from where Gabriel was standing, watching them come. 

“Hey, Mr. Gabriel,” Jack said weakly, hanging his head. 

“Hey, Jack,” Gabriel repeated, and sighed. 

“I’m so sorry I...that I...scared you,” Jack said after an awkward silence. “I’m really disappointed in myself; I swore I’d never hurt an Omega, and then the first thing I do when I go into rut is to threaten you.” 

Gabriel sighed again. “It’s okay,” he said. “I know you couldn’t help it and didn’t mean to. I wish it hadn’t happened, but...wishing doesn’t make it so. Anyway,” he added after another moment, “it’s a good thing you were there. If you hadn’t been, I doubt I would’ve gotten such a good shot at the guy.” 

“Thank you for letting me and my mom come back,” Jack replied. “I--I don’t know if there’s anything I can do to make things better, but if I can, let me know and I’ll do it. Whatever it is” 

Gabriel took a breath, and let it out slowly. “Well, at first, we’ll be on different shifts. Then when we aren’t...I suppose, just...try not to get too close to me without letting me know you’re there? So you don’t startle me?”

Jack nodded vigorously, as Sam let go of his shoulder and walked over to where Gabriel was standing. “Of course, Mr. Gabriel. I’ll make sure you know where I am. And--and if you need me to go away for a little while, I can do that too. Anything.” 

Sam could tell Gabriel was struggling with the concept of having to be the bigger man in the situation, so he gave his mate a small push on his lower back. “Okay. Okay, let’s--” Gabriel took a step forward, and then another. “Let’s shake on it,” he decided, apparently unwilling to go so far as to hug Jack. 

He offered his hand to Jack, who beamed at him and reached out and took it. “Heh,” Gabriel said, “I can tell you’ve gotten stronger already.” 

“I have,” Jack replied, letting go of his hand and nodding. “My sense of smell is better, too, though nothing compared to Sam’s, I’m sure. If anything else ever happens, well, I shouldn’t need the mop.” 

Gabriel shuddered. “Let’s hope nothing else happens,” he said weakly, releasing Jack’s hand. 

Sam came up behind him, and pulled his mate into a one-armed hug. “If it ever does, Jack--having brains is more important than having muscles. If there’s ever another fight, you use any advantage you can get, including the mop, to end it as soon as you can.” He smiled. “After all, I’ll be trusting you to take care of my mate.”

“Of course, Mr. Winchester,” Jack replied, wide-eyed. “I’ll take just as good care of him as I do of my mom.” 

“Then everything should be great. Want to put on an apron and clock in, then go out to the till while your mother gets ready?” Sam suggested. “Gabriel can tell her what’s up with all the dough.”

“Yeah, okay.” Jack beamed, though it faltered a little when he glanced at Gabriel. “I hope you feel better soon, Mr. Gabriel. And thank you again.”

“You’re welcome,” Gabriel said, leaning against Sam. He watched Jack clock in and head out to the front, then shook his head. “Take me home?” he asked. 

“Of course,” Sam replied, his heart breaking a little at his mate’s weary tone and demeanor. “I’ll clock us out; just catch Kelly up on everything, and then we can go home.” 

“Okay,” Gabriel agreed, and Sam heard him start telling Kelly what needed to be done as soon as she appeared. Sam entered their work times and made a few notes in the computer system before shutting it down and taking off his apron. He hung it on its peg and then waited for Gabriel to do the same. 

Once the Omega had, the two walked home together in silence. 

.oOOo.

At home, Sam settled Gabriel on the couch and found a blanket to tuck around him before putting on another episode of Firefly. “Be right back,” he said, kissing Gabriel’s cheek. “I’ll make sandwiches.” It was about all he could make that was actually edible. 

He went into the kitchen and did just that, finding some potato chips in the back of one of the cupboards to add to Gabriel’s plate. His sandwich was piled high with sprouts and kale, while Gabriel’s was full of cheese and meat and practically dripping with mayonnaise. 

Sam brought both plates out to the living room, only to find his mate fast asleep, mouth open and drooling. Sam chuckled softly to himself, then switched off the TV and sat down and ate his dinner. Gabriel still hadn’t woken by the time he finished, so Sam went into the office and worked for a while. 

His Omega was still on the couch sleeping when he finally emerged, so he picked Gabriel up and carried him to their nest, gently undressing him before settling him under the covers. The Omega shifted to get comfortable, but then stilled, so Sam went through his own pre-sleep routine, undressing, brushing his teeth, and so on. 

He eventually climbed into the other side of the nest and pulled his mate close. He loved sleeping with Gabriel; the Omega was absolutely the perfect size to wrap his arms around and cuddle against, whether he was facing away from Sam or toward him. Then there was the smell; Gabriel really did smell good enough to eat. The Omega was both soft and muscular at the same time, and Sam delighted in exploring the contrasts with his fingers. Normally, it would be after they had made love, but this time, he just traced nonsense patterns on Gabriel’s skin until he fell asleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Becky's hearing happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter fills the 'Presenting' square for SPN ABO Bingo.

Becky’s hearing didn’t happen for several months. Sam was back in law school, Gabriel was comfortable working with Jack again, and Operation Matchmaker, which had been born when Gabriel and Charlie had caught Kevin making moon-eyes at Jack, was going well so far. Sprinkles! was doing well; they were slowly climbing out of the financial hole they’d gone into while renovating the building and opening. Castiel had eventually decided that he’d work part-time at Sprinkles!, so they hadn’t needed to hire anyone else--and both Gabriel and Kelly had been more than happy to occasionally pupsit Mary when Castiel was working. Even Jack had taken a turn. 

Still, walking into court was difficult. Even though he knew a hearing would be considerably shorter than a trial, Gabriel really didn’t want to talk about _any_ of it again. Moreover, he’d been spoiled; in the bakery he could get away with T-shirts and jeans under his ever more colorful aprons. Now, he felt out of place in his suit, and kept playing with his tie (which sported cupcakes, of course). 

He heard Sam sigh from above him. “Stop messing with it, Gabriel, it’ll be fine.” Sam, of course, was wearing the hell out of his cheap suit, and Gabriel took a moment to look over and appreciate the view. He really had gotten lucky with his choice of mates. 

They were a little early, so they met up with everyone else--Benny and Victor were there and they both hugged Gabriel and shook hands with Sam. They’d been regular customers at Sprinkles! ever since the incident there, though Jack had proved more than capable of taking care of any unruly patrons since he’d presented. 

Sam also hugged Andrea before he introduced her, which, oddly enough, didn’t make Gabriel feel jealous. If there was one good thing that had come out of all of this, it was that he was now convinced that Sam really did love him for who he was and wasn’t likely to stray. After all, Sam had had plenty of opportunities. 

Gabriel was still nervous as they took their seats, but not nearly as nervous as he’d been during Gordon and Alistair’s trial. From what Benny and Victor had told them, this hearing was more of a formality than anything else--the prosecution’s psychologists had agreed with the defense’s: Becky needed to be institutionalized, not sent to prison. For now.

He growled lowly as she was brought out and heard Sam echo it, though he couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her. She looked awful, both because she’d lost weight and wasn’t taking care of herself and because orange was very much _not_ her color. 

The beginning of the hearing focused on Becky’s mental state, with several psychologists testifying that she was not currently competent to stand trial. Gabriel sat back and let the psychobabble wash over him; he concentrated on what he was going to say when it was his turn. 

Eventually, Andrea was invited up to the podium and explained how she and her son had been forced to help Becky at gunpoint and how it had completely destroyed her sense of safety. Gabriel grimaced in sympathy; he remembered that feeling. Even though Andrea and Lucas had moved to a new house, they were still constantly looking over their shoulders, waiting for something bad to happen. Gabriel made a mental note to try to talk with the other Omega after the hearing; he knew a number of strategies to deal with that feeling thanks to Garth. 

Sam got up next, and casually tossed around phrases like, ‘Callous and nearly sociopathic disregard for her peers’ as if they grew on trees. He emphasized that Becky had placed all of them in mortal danger at one point or another, all to play out a delusional fantasy that had no basis in reality. He ended by asking the judge to get her the help she had clearly needed ever since her parents died. 

Gabriel went last. Sam smiled at him and squeezed his hand before he went up to the podium, but he didn’t really feel as if he needed the encouragement for once. “Your Honor,” he began. “My mate is better with words than I am. He’s also more forgiving--as far as I’m concerned, I don’t care whether you throw Becky in prison or in a mental hospital. I just want her gone. Yes, she threatened my life. I can’t even imagine hiring Alphas to rape another Omega, let alone one who I knew had been kidnapped and threatened with rape before. That sort of trauma, it...leaves marks. Marks that don’t heal easily.” 

Gabriel paused to take a breath. “I don’t care about that, though, because she threatened something I value more than life itself: My bond with Sam. I...can’t even imagine what it would be like, not to be attracted to him or his scent. She claims she understands mating, but she doesn’t. If she did, she would never, ever have tried to dissolve the bond between us. Your Honor, if...if she’d succeeded…” He had to swipe at a tear with the back of his hand, and briefly glared at it as if it had offended him. “For me, being without Sam would be a fate much, much worse than death. I’d still be alive, but I wouldn’t be able to live. Not really. We’re true mates, like you read about in storybooks. I never expected to have that, but here we are--and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.

“Becky doesn’t understand love, either. She claims to love Sam, but she doesn’t. If our positions were reversed, no matter how badly I felt about not being able to be with Sam, I’d be happy knowing he was happy, even if it wasn’t with me. Becky is selfish. Sam isn’t what she thinks he is. He’s wonderful, sure, but he’s way too cheerful in the mornings, obsessed with health, and becomes absolutely toxic after eating burritos. I don’t just love him because he’s hot and kind; I love him _because_ he’s a morning person and _because_ he’s obsessed with his health. But maybe despite the burrito thing.” Gabriel huffed out a little laugh. 

“Anyway, he’s my mate. And Becky selfishly tried to take all of that away from me. I don’t know exactly how you throw the book at someone with mental issues, but I hope you do. This woman is incredibly dangerous, and she needs to be put away for the good of society until she realizes what she’s done. I--think that’s all. Thank you.” He nodded to the judge, and then went to sit back down with Sam. Judging by the look on his mate’s face, at some point they were going to have a discussion about whether or not the strength of your mate’s farts was an appropriate subject to describe in a courtroom. 

Still, Sam’s arm automatically came up and around Gabriel as he burrowed back into his mate’s side. He took a deep lungful of lettuce, beer, and books and then turned back to Judge Carroll, who was shuffling papers. 

“Given the testimony I’ve heard today,” she said, “I find that Rebecca Rosen is currently unfit to stand trial. As such, I insist she be confined in a mental institution until such time as her doctors deem her fit to stand trial. At such time, she will face these charges and her accusers in a court of law. Court is adjourned.” 

“All rise for the Honorable Judge Hannah Carroll,” the bailiff announced, and Gabriel joined Sam in standing. Once the judge had left, he turned to his mate and hugged him. 

Sam wrapped his arms around his Omega and kissed his hair. “There,” he murmured. “All done. No more Becky and no lengthy trial to go through...at least, not for a good long while.”

“Thank God,” Gabriel replied. 

“Yeah,” Sam agreed, turning Gabriel toward the door with an arm. “Ready to go?”

“More than,” Gabriel confirmed, though he stopped on his way out to shake hands with Benny and Victor and thank them for their work. He also stopped to speak briefly with Andrea as well, and exchanged phone numbers with her. Unfortunately, her new place wasn’t close enough to the bakery for him to be able to offer pup care, but he told her he’d be happy to talk to her about strategies to cope with the perception of lost safety. 

Sam waited patiently for Gabriel, and then waited again as he spoke to reporters outside the courtroom. They then made their way to the car. Gabriel plopped himself down into the passenger seat, then buckled his seat belt and leaned back. He smiled as Sam switched the station to his favorite--dance hits--instead of Sam’s (classical). “Chez Francesca’s?” Sam asked, referring to his favorite restaurant. 

“Yes, please.” They’d planned to go there in celebration after the hearing, but he knew Sam liked to check in--especially since Gabriel was a consummate plan-changer. “Are you mad at me?” he asked after Sam had pulled into traffic, eyeing him sideways. 

Sam blinked, and looked over, confused. Apparently he’d already forgotten the burrito thing. Stupid of Gabriel to bring it back up, really. “For what?”

“Burritos.” 

“Oh.” Sam barked out a short laugh. “Nah. You got your point across, Omega.” He reached out and set a hand on Gabriel’s thigh, squeezing. “‘Sides, it’s not as if you don’t have any bad habits of your own.”

Gabriel gasped in mock-horror. “I do not!” he exclaimed, setting a hand to his chest. “I am an absolute perfect specimen of Omega-ness, and the best mate anyone could ever ask for.” 

Sam just snorted in return, and it made them both laugh. 

.oOOo.

Speaking of non-ideal mates, Gabriel was a complete brat at the restaurant; if he hadn’t been in such a good mood, Sam might have gotten upset. For one thing, Gabriel had insisted on sitting in his lap and being fed his meal, which got them more than one strange look from other patrons. Then, he’d ordered an insanely huge dessert--one that was meant to be split between multiple people--and eaten every bite (which Sam had had to feed to him) except one, since Sam had at least wanted to taste it. 

Gabriel had kept shifting, too, in a very purposeful but teasing manner that had had Sam clearing his throat more than once during the meal. He’d kept whispering filthy things in Sam’s ear, too; promises of what he planned to do once they got home. In short, Sam had not appreciated Gabriel drawing out the meal with the huge dessert. He wasn’t quite sure how Gabriel managed to stand up and leave the restaurant after eating that much, but he did. Eventually. 

Sam had planned on having his way with Gabriel as soon as they got home, but Gabriel put a stop to that, insisting that Sam stay in the living room while he ‘got ready,’ whatever that meant. Sam obeyed, assuming that his Omega had plans and that he’d enjoy them. 

“C’mon in, Sam!” Gabriel _finally_ called from their bedroom. Sam immediately got up and stalked in, nose flaring as he scented his Omega--and his Omega’s arousal. He paused in the doorway. Gabriel was reclined in the nest, wearing male Omega lingerie--sheer fabrics, but less lace and ribbons and more leather than you usually saw on female lingerie. The color was the wine reddish-purple that looked so good on him. Sam heard himself make a choking noise, and Gabriel smirked. “See anything you like, big boy?” He sat up and stretched, the lingerie hinting at things Sam already knew well but suddenly couldn’t wait to see again. 

Before he could start forward, Gabriel held up a bottle containing his heat suppressants. He displayed them to Sam for probably a moment longer than he needed to, and then tossed them in the trash. Before Sam could really process his mate’s actions, Gabriel held up a second bottle--his birth control--and tossed those pills, too. Sam froze, eyes widening (probably comically). “Are you sure?” he breathed. He had always maintained that having pups--including the where, when, and why of it--was Gabriel’s choice. 

“Life’s too short,” Gabriel replied, uncharacteristically serious. “Sprinkles! is a hit, and Jack and Kelly and Cas are all trained well enough for me to be able to take some time off. I want to have pups with eyes that change color depending on what they’re wearing and chestnut curls. I want to spoil them all rotten and worry about them on their first day of school. I want more than just Mary--I want sons or daughters of my own.”

“I hope they have whiskey-colored eyes,” Sam said, his mouth forgetting to check in with his brain. “...but yes. I want all that too.”

Gabriel beamed at him. “Then get over here, Alpha, and fill me full of your pups.” 

Sam’s nostrils flared, and he was suddenly, embarrassingly hard as he made his way over to the bed. Gabriel, of course, noticed, and laughed. “Ooooh, does my Alpha have a breeding kink I didn’t know about?”

Sam scoffed, even as he lifted Gabriel up by the waist and set him back down in the middle of the nest. “I think I just have a _you_ kink,” he corrected as he leaned over Gabriel and began fiddling with the edges of the lingerie. “You do know that it will take time for that medicine to get out of your system, right?”

“Close enough,” Gabriel said. “And yes, but you know as well as I do that practice makes--” Sam shut him up with a kiss. 

“Present for me,” he whispered a while later. 

And Gabriel did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I can't believe we're here, at the end of the story, already. Don't worry; we're probably not at the end of the 'verse...I want to at least write timestamps with pregnant Gabriel and both of them being super-cute fathers. However, I have promised myself I have to finish other WIPs before I can come back to this 'verse. ...We'll see how that goes XD. 
> 
> Thank you so much for taking this wild ride with me! I sincerely appreciate those of you who are willing to wait for my muses, which may or may not produce when I ask them to... And one, big, final thank you to my beta, WarlockWriter!

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @MasterpieceofTurkeyCleverness!


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